Source: Bears eyeing workouts with 6-7 kickers
Less than a month after Cody Parkey‘s blocked kick cost the Chicago Bears their season, the team is likely to work out six to seven kickers, including former New York Jets veteran Nick Folk, on Friday, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Parkey missed a potential game winner in the NFC wild-card round against the Philadelphia Eagles when his 43-yard attempt hit the upright after being tipped by defensive tackle Treyvon Hester.
The week after the miss, Parkey made an appearance on NBC’s “Today” in a move that drew disapproval from coach Matt Nagy.
On Wednesday, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said he supported Parkey regardless of his decision to go on TV.
“He made a personal decision, and us being teammates and a family, we’ve just got to support our guys no matter what they do,” Trubisky said.
Parkey had been under fire in Chicago well before the playoffs after he missed a league-high 10 kicks — seven field goals and three extra points — during the regular season. He bounced four kicks off the uprights during a Week 10 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Chicago signed Parkey during the 2018 offseason to a contract that included $9 million in guaranteed money. The team would have to carry $4,437,500 worth of dead salary-cap money if it cuts Parkey.
Bears general manager Ryan Pace had acknowledged the team would have a kicker competition in 2019, if not an outright change.
Folk did not play in 2018 after being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last February. He is 245-for-305 on field goals in his 11-year NFL career, with the Buccaneers, Jets and Dallas Cowboys.
Information from ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson was used in this report.