Chicago Bears: Kicking competition intensifies with more players

The Chicago Bears are working hard to find a proper replacement for Cody Parkey. They are reportedly bringing in more kickers for a tryout to battle the two already signed.

Last offseason, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace thought he had the kicker who could finally be the guy to replace all-time great Robbie Gould. He signed Cody Parkey to a long-term deal, but, as we know, that didn’t turn out well.

Parkey suddenly developed a love of hitting uprights and it cost the Bears in the playoffs. After an appearance on the Today Show that didn’t endear him to his team, it was clear that Parkey would not see a second season in a Chicago Bears uniform. That was confirmed when the Bears cut him when the NFL’s new year began in March.

Now the team is working hard to try to find a replacement for Parkey. They signed Redford Jones and Chris Blewitt to battle it out at camp. Now, with the early demise of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), they are bringing in two or three more kickers in for tryouts. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported that the Bears will bring in kickers from the AAF for tryouts this week. The kickers are Younghoe Koo and Nick Rose — and possibly Elliott Fry.

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It appears the team wants to see as many kickers they can to get a good idea of who they want. Koo and Rose each have NFL experience. They both kicked for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017. Neither did very well, however. Koo connected on 3-of-6 kicks, missing two possible game-winning kicks in the first two weeks of the season. He was promptly cut after Week 4. Rose played two games for the Chargers before playing in eight games for Washington. He made 11-of-14 that season.

Koo and Rose were two of the best kickers in the AAF. Koo connected on all 14 of his field goal attempts. Rose also hit 14-of-14. The difference between the two, though, is while Rose hit on a 54-yard kick and another one from 50 yards, Koo’s longest was just 38. Rose is also a YouTube sensation after hitting a kick from 80 yards in practice.

Interestingly, Fry also hit all 14 of his kicks in his AAF season, with a long of 47. He had a tryout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2017, but did not make the team.

In addition to the one of three kickers the Bears possibly sign after this week, they’ll probably find another one through the draft, either by drafting one or picking an undrafted prospect. Cole Tracy of LSU and Matt Gay of Utah are the top-rated kickers in this draft. With two seventh-round picks, the Bears might use one on one of them.

Last month at the NFL Owners Meeting, Pace spoke about how he wants competition for the spot. He feels the competition will make them better, per the Chicago Tribune:

"Right now we’re all just very open-minded. So we have two kickers on the roster now, and we’re open to continue to add competition to the position — and the keyword is ‘competition’ at that spot. And doing creative things to make them feel that pressure and that competition."

Pace went on to talk about how competition made kickers like Wil Lutz of the New Orleans Saints and Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens. They weren’t well-known when they began but when they were pushed they got better. Now they are two of the top kickers in the league. He hopes the same happens with the competition in Chicago.

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If the Bears do find a kicker who sticks for some time, that makes this team all the more dangerous. The more dependable the kicker, the more points scored on the board, and the more wins during the season. Yes, there are some areas where some consider more important. Hitting on the right kicker, however, really settles a lot in the offense. Just look at what happened last season when the Bears missed at that position.

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