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 cuts, 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 the Browns 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.
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