Cody Parkey

With K Harrison Butker Ailing, Chiefs Sign Kicker To Practice Squad

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is dealing with an ankle injury from the team’s season opener. He returned to the game later on, but the injury may be more serious than initially thought as Kansas City opted to add former Jets kicker Matt Ammendola to their practice squad tonight, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. 

Butker slipped on the kickoff following the Kansas City’s opening scoring drive yesterday and limped off the field with a hurt ankle. The Chiefs trotted out safety Justin Reid for the next two extra point attempts, which he split one for two. After Reid’s missed extra point attempt, the Chiefs brought Butker back for field goals and extra points, but kept Reid as the kickoff specialist.

Seeing Butker’s return inspired hope that his injury was not too serious, but today’s signing hints that there might be reason to worry. Ammendola was the winner of what was a kicking contest between several free agents today, according to another tweet from Pelissero. He beat out Elliott Fry, Chase McLaughlin, Cody Parkey, Tristan Vizcaino, and rookie Cameron Dicker.

Ammendola went undrafted two years ago out of Oklahoma State. He eventually spent a few months in the offseason leading up to the 2021 season with the Panthers before signing with the Jets. He made his NFL debut in New York, playing in 11 games. Ammendola was perfect from within 40 yards, going 11 for 11, but struggled from a distance going two for eight on kicks longer than 40 yards, including missing all three kicks from over 50 yards. He was mostly reliable on extra points, though, converting 14 of his 15 attempts. He also served double-duty doing kickoffs and punts for the Jets.

It’s not a foregone conclusion that Ammendola is kicking for the Chiefs this week, but placing him on the practice squad allows the Chiefs to call him up on a day’s notice if Butker is not feeling 100-percent leading up to the team’s Thursday night matchup against the Chargers.

Saints Release CB Desmond Trufant, Others

The Saints cleared a handful of roster spots today, letting go of three veterans. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the Saints released kicker Cody Parkey, defensive back Brian Poole, and cornerback Desmond Trufant.

Parkey had a brief stint as the Saints starting kicker before suffering a groin injury that landed him on IR earlier today. Ultimately, the veteran was released with an injury settlement, allowing him to sign elsewhere (instead of being sidelined for three weeks before inevitably getting released). During New Orleans’ win over Washington the other day, Parkey didn’t attempt a field goal while converting three of his five extra point tries.

The kicker will be replaced by kicker Brian Johnson, who was signed off the Bears practice squad today. The Saints will continue to rotate through options at the position as they await Wil Lutz‘s return.

Trufant, a Pro Bowler during his time with the Falcons, joined the Saints in early September. He saw time in only two games for the Saints, collecting three tackles. The veteran hadn’t seen the field since Week 2, and he was pushed down the depth chart following the Bradley Roby acquisition. Now, the 31-year-old will have an opportunity to find work elsewhere.

Poole landed on injured reserve prior to the season, which meant he wasn’t going to see the field for New Orleans during the 2021 campaign. Like Parkey, he’ll be released with an injury settlement, allowing him to immediately find work elsewhere. Poole started 17 games for the Jets between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, collecting 103 tackles and three interceptions.

Besides the addition of Johnson, the Saints used one of their open roster spots to sign defensive tackle Christian Ringo.

Saints Place Cody Parkey On IR

The Saints are placing Cody Parkey on the injured reserve list, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Parkey joined the Saints just over a week ago, but he’ll be out for a while with a groin injury. 

Parkey took over for Aldrick Rosas, who made just 1 of 4 field goal tries in 2021. Parkey, meanwhile, had yet to debut this year. Unfortunately, he pulled his groin during pregame warmups against Washington. The Saints went on to win 33-22, but Parkey was clearly hurting as he missed two of his five extra point tries.

Parkey, 29, made 19 of 22 attempts to help the Browns to the playoffs last year. The Browns placed him on IR and dropped him over the summer after he suffered a quad injury. He’s become a well-traveled pro, having kicked for five NFL teams. After two straight years as the Eagles’ kicker to start his career, which included a Pro Bowl nod in 2014, Parkey has not been with the same team in consecutive seasons since. He bounced to Cleveland in 2016, Miami in ’17, Chicago in ’18, Tennessee in ’19 and back to Cleveland last season. The Bears stint serves as Parkey’s most memorable stay, with the infamous “double doink” game spotlighting their kicker position throughout the following offseason.

The Saints may audition other kickers, but they might not have to sign one. Wil Lutz — who had a groin injury of his own — will be eligible to return after the bye for Week 7.

Saints, K Cody Parkey Agree To Deal

The Saints are making another change at kicker. They are signing veteran Cody Parkey, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This would stand to signal the end of Aldrick Rosas‘ New Orleans run.

Rosas has made just 1 of 4 field goal tries this season, having missed his past three kicks. The most recent came Sunday in a loss to the Giants. Parkey has not yet kicked during the 2021 season.

This deal appears set to be temporary. Primary Saints kicker Wil Lutz is only expected to miss a couple more games while recovering from his groin injury, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets. Lutz aggravated a groin issue in early August. He has been New Orleans’ primary kicker since 2016.

Parkey has become a well-traveled specialist, having kicked for five teams as a pro. After two straight years as the Eagles’ kicker to start his career, which included a Pro Bowl nod in 2014, Parkey has not been with the same team in consecutive seasons since. He bounced to Cleveland in 2016, Miami in ’17, Chicago in ’18, Tennessee in ’19 and back to Cleveland last season. The Bears stint serves as Parkey’s most memorable stay, with the infamous “double doink” game spotlighting their kicker position throughout the following offseason.

The Saints have, in fact, cut Rosas. They initially signed the ex-Giants Pro Bowler as Lutz’s replacement during the preseason. Rosas, who kicked in six games with the Jaguars last season, continues to see his career trend in the wrong direction. While he missed a difficult field goal in the Saints’ loss to the Giants — from 58 yards out — he missed 36- and 52-yard tries in Week 3.

Parkey, 29, made 19 of 22 attempts to help the Browns to the playoffs. He did miss four extra-point tries in his second Cleveland stay and has not made a 50-yard field goal since 2019. The Browns placed him on IR earlier this year with a quad injury but reached an injury settlement in August, opening the door for Parkey to kick for another team this season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/21

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. Teams had until 3pm today to cut their rosters down to 80 players.

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived: QB Kenji Bahar

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: OT Casey Tucker

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: K Ryan Succop
  • Waived/injured: OT Chidi Okeke

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Browns To Place Cody Parkey On IR

The Browns will officially have a new kicker in 2021. Cleveland will place kicker Cody Parkey on injured reserve with a quad injury, head coach Kevin Stefanski announced on Monday.

Since Parkey is being moved to IR before final roster cut-downs, it means he won’t be able to play for the Browns this season. He kicked in 15 games for the Browns in 2020, connecting on 19 of his 22 field goal attempts. He went 43/47 on extra point attempts. Parkey has been the regular season kicker for four different teams in the past four seasons.

He was with the Dolphins in 2017, the Bears in 2018, the Titans in 2019, and then the Browns last year. He began his pro career in 2014, and was the Eagles’ kicker in his rookie season, so he’s bounced around a fair amount. Parkey has kicked in plenty of games, but he’s perhaps most well known for his infamous ‘double doink’ missed kick in the playoffs with Chicago a few years ago.

The move will leave Chase McLaughlin as the only kicker on Cleveland’s roster. Although beat writers were quick to point out that Stefanski stopped short of declaring McLaughlin the new full-time kicker, it appears it’ll be him unless they decide to add a last-minute veteran to the mix. McLaughlin kicked in three games with the Jaguars and one with the Jets last year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/20

Here is Saturday’s usual flood of minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/19/20

Here are the most recent NFL minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Placed on IR: CB C.J. Henderson

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: FB C.J. Ham

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Browns Promote K Cody Parkey

The Browns have called Cody Parkey up from the practice squad, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Parkey, presumably, will replace kicker Austin Seibert who had a rough outing on Sunday.

This marks a return to Cleveland’s active roster for Parkey, who kicked in 14 Browns games in 2016. Parkey, a 2014 Pro Bowler with the Eagles, made 80% of his field goals that year.

The Browns watched Seibert miss a 41-yard field goal try and an extra point in their 38-6 blowout loss to the Ravens. His two kickoff tries left much to be desired, as well. The Browns used a fifth-round pick on the Oklahoma product just one year ago, but they’re leaving nothing to chance as they try to turn things around in 2020. As a rookie, Seibert nailed 86.2% of his field goal tries and was perfect inside of the 40. His XP completion rate was spotty, however – the youngster missed five of his 35 attempts.

The Browns and Parkey will try to get to .500 on Thursday night when they face the Bengals in Cincinnati.

Cody Parkey Lands On Browns’ P-Squad

After bringing Cody Parkey in for a workout and a subsequent visit, the Browns are indeed keeping the veteran kicker around.

Parkey agreed to join Cleveland’s practice squad. He represents kicker insurance behind incumbent Austin Seibert, whom the Browns — under the previous John Dorsey regime — drafted in the fifth round last year.

This marks a return to Cleveland for Parkey, who kicked in 14 Browns games in 2016. He made 80% of his field goals that year. The Browns have used different kickers in each of the past six seasons, though Seibert looks likely to snap that streak. He will have Parkey, a 2014 Pro Bowler with the Eagles, representing continual competition, however.

Former Titans third-round wide receiver Taywan Taylor also landed on the Browns’ practice squad. Taylor, who posted 466 receiving yards in 2018, was with the Browns last year and in training camp this year.

Following their Tuesday addition of tackle Greg Senat to the practice-only crew, here is the Browns’ squad: