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The Bears will reveal striker kicker Cody Parkey at the start of the championship season next month, sources at the Sun-Times confirmed.
Parkey missed his mark eight times – including a 43-yard double kick that would have defeated the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs – and three more points in his first season with the Bears. His appearance on NBC's "Today" channel five days after the playoff defeat disrupted Bears' morale.
"For me, you understand that we always talk about the" we "and not the" me ", said Bears coach Matt Nagy last month." And we always talk as a team, we win as a team we lose in a team.
"You know, I'm coming, I did not necessarily think it was too much of us."
The Bears will launch Cody Parkey, the kicker in action, confirmed sources at the Sun-Times. | Ashlee Rezin / Sun-Times
At that time, it was clear that Parkey's days in uniform Bears were numbered.
The Bears signed a $ 15 million four-year contract with Parkey last March, giving it $ 9 million worth of guarantees. The Bears owe him $ 3.5 even though he will not play for them next year. Cutting it will yield $ 5.187 million next year, according to Spotrac.com. Nevertheless, this is a price that the Bears are willing to pay to reach the position they promised to improve.
By making the move before the free activity begins, the Bears provide Parkey with the clarity needed to find a new job.
The Bears were not embarrassed by their desire to compete with the kicker position. They signed Redford Jones, a novice player, at the end of January. They now seem to be active in the free agent market when the league starts next month.
"This position is a priority for us," said general manager Ryan Pace in January. "We understand that we have to improve, get more production out of this position. Matt talks about it all the time: there is so much parity in our league, so many close games, the kicker position is crucial. We know we need to improve and it will be an area of ​​concentration. "
Parkey scored six verticals last season – with two extra points and two goals in a game in the same game against the Lions, once in the final of the season against the Vikings and once in the playoff game, although the replay showed the ball tilted by the Eagles' defense The lineman Treyvon Hester.
His appearance "Today", which was not arranged by the Bears, also landed with a thud. He answered five minutes of questions about his reaction to the miss.
At one point, Savannah Guthrie, host of "Today," exclaimed, "I think they should have MHPs – Most Player Player."
"I feel worse than anyone else for missing that free kick, because I wanted to do it more than anyone," Parkey said on the show. "At the end of the day, I will keep my head up. When things do not go as planned, I will continue to think positively and continue to play. "
Parkey, who returned home to Florida after the season, said at the morning show that he was sorry for the playoffs.
"I saw him touching the vertical and the crossbar, and I thought," It'll be okay, "he said," Unfortunately it's bouncing back to me. "I'm disappointed to have left to drop the fans, my teammates and the organization, but I will continue to keep my head up. "
Robbie Gould is one of the most likely players to be replaced by the Bears, although he told the Sun-Times earlier this month: "I think there is a mutual understanding" about the fact that we want to go back to the 49ers. They could offer him the franchise badge or sign a long-term contract with Gould, which the Bears abandoned before the 2016 season.
Gould said that he felt for Parkey – he was present for the Eagles game.
"Does the fact that he participated in a morning show really matter? Probably not, "said Gould. "But that's what we like to talk about and that's what we like to do in Chicago. We like to have these stories of newspapers and competitive radio stations. But I understand. I'm sure he would have loved doing it. "