Eagles
Bears Expected to Release Former Eagles Kicker Cody Parkey
Penn State Great Valley MBA, Penn State Berks Undergrad, Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor, IT Service Manager. I joined Sports Talk Philly in 2017 and root for all the Philly teams (as well as their minor league counter parts).
All posts by Paul BowmanPublished23 Feb 2019
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
In 2014, the Eagles picked up a rookie kicker in the hopes that he could take the reins for the foreseeable future. It seemed like it would be a real possibility as that kicker was selected to the Pro Bowl in his first season.
Just the next season, he suffered an injury and third-year man Caleb Sturgis was brought in to replace him. Two seasons later Sturgis would get injured and the Eagles would bring in yet another rookie to take the job. This time, Jake Elliot, who the team signed to a one-year deal yesterday.
Who is this kicker you may ask? Why it is none other than Cody Parkey.
After making 41 of 48 field goals and 46 of 50 extra points in two seasons with the Browns and Dolphins, the Bears handed Parkey a four-year, $15 million deal.
On Friday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that the Bears plan to release the kicker after only one season. Parkey will have made $9 million for playing last season.
The #Bears have decided to release K Cody Parkey at the start of the league year, sources say. A fresh start is welcomed by both parties, and the Pro Bowler will likely find work quickly. He’s still due $3.5M guaranteed on his 2019 contract.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 22, 2019
In what will be his only season with the Bears, Parkey made 23 of 30 field goals and 42 of 45 extra points. He hit the field goal post on five of those missed kicks with the feat happening four times in one game.
Here is all of Cody Parkey’s missed field goals today. pic.twitter.com/tAkxDRHTwP
— The Loop Sports (@TheLoop_Sports) November 11, 2018
Of course, Parkey accounted for nine of the Bears 15 points in the wild card round against the Eagles and it was a kick that turned out to have been blocked by Eagles defensive tackle Treyvon Hester that sent the Eagles to the divisional round and ended the Bears season.
Chicago fans jumped immediately to death threats following the kick because it was not immediately clear that the kick was blocked. The fan reaction and timing of the block likely contributed to the move as Parkey could easily have been 26 of 30 and 44 of 45 as well as 5 of 5 in the playoffs – there are absolutely worse kickers in the NFL than that.
