Chicago Bears: Grading the early 2018 free agency moves

Cody Parkey, Kicker (Four years, $15 million)

Just before the start of the 2016 season, the Chicago Bears cut longtime kicker Robbie Gould. Gould was one of the Bears best kickers, but he started to miss key field goals. He was due to receive a salary of a top-5 kicker but the Bears didn’t think he was worth it. Gould went on and actually improved. He thanked the Bears for the kick in the butt he needed to get back on track.

While that was all well and good for Gould, the Bears ended up with a mediocre Connor Barth. Barth also missed key field goals while Gould made almost every kick he attempted. The Bears also tried Cairo Santos and Mike Nugent, but neither was the answer. Now the Bears signed a young kicker who’s had success.

Cody Parkey is a record-breaking kicker. He broke the rookie scoring record in 2014 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He connected on 32 of his 36 field goal attempts, including 4-of-4 from 50 yards. Ironically, the record he broke belonged to former Bears great Kevin Butler.

In 2015, Parkey suffered an injury and missed nearly the entire season. The Eagles cut him and he signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2016. He only had 25 kicks that season, but he was getting his confidence back.

Last season, Parkey looked like he was back in form. He kicked for the 28th-ranked offense but made 21 of his 23 field goal attempts. As a result, he hit it rich with the Bears. Parkey is just 26 years old. He could spend a lot of years in Chicago and become the next great Bears kicker.

The Bears need to score more points and with the overhauled offense, they need a dependable kicker. They have one in Cody Parkey.

Grade: A