Cody Parkey Solidifying His Role as Philadelphia Eagles Kicker

Nobody knew how long Cody Parkey’s tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles would last. Now little more than two months removed from the trade that brought him to the club, there’s no end in sight.

Parkey has been nothing less than reliable since his mid-August arrival, not merely for a rookie, but for a kicker in general, an often-fickle position prone to streaky performances and superstition. Given what Philadelphia was staring at when training camp opened, he almost seems too good to be true—better than the best-case scenario at that point in time.

	PTS	FG%	LNG	TB%
Stats	65	93.3	54	62.8
Rank	t-6th	t-7th	t-11th	11th

An undrafted free agent out of Auburn, Parkey has been nearly flawless without exaggeration through seven games this season, true on 23 extra points and 14 of 15 field goals with a long of 54 and a couple of game-winners. He also ranks 11th in the NFL with 62.8 percent of his kickoffs going for touchbacks.

I’d say that puts Parkey well on his way to signing a lifelong-contract extension, perhaps even obtaining the keys to the city.

In all seriousness, it’s been quite awhile since the Eagles boasted anybody remotely dependable kicking the football—since the departure of David Akers in 2010, to be exact.

The Akers era ended after 12 years without fanfare when the team used a fourth-round pick on Alex Henery out of Nebraska. Unfortunately, that selection never panned out.

Henery didn't possess the leg strength to attempt the longer field goals that are becoming the norm, let alone boom the ball into the end zone to force touchbacks with any consistency. Once his field-goal accuracy started diminishing, so too did Henery’s usefulness.

USA TODAY Sports

An awful miss from 48 yards in a 26-24 first-round playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints in January revealed to the world that kicker was one of Philadelphia’s top two or three offseason needs.

Unfortunately, coming by a legitimate replacement proved difficult in a thin free-agent market. The Eagles turned to the draft, opting for a competition instead, scooping up Carey Spear out of Vanderbilt off the scrap heap once all the names had been called.

They chose wrong. As bad as Henery was, Spear didn’t provide anything resembling a challenge, despite the fanfare that came with the nickname Murderleg. Spear was so dreadful, he wasn’t even allowed on the field for a preseason game.

So when Henery missed a 48-yard field goal in an exhibition game against the New England Patriots, the Eagles seemingly had nowhere left to turn.

Then they dealt for Parkey.

GM	XP	FG	LNG	TB
Wk 1 @ NYJ w/ IND	0/0	0/0	-	2/3
Wk 2 vs. NYG w/ IND	0/0	2/2	45	4/7
Wk 3 vs. PIT w/ PHI	1/1	0/0	-	1/3
Wk 4 vs. NYJ w/ PHI	2/2	3/3	54	2/4

Parkey was enjoying a superb summer with the Indianapolis Colts, but he was only really there to help keep 41-year-old Adam Vinatieri fresh. Rather than wait to dump him on cut-down day, the Colts exchanged their backup kicker for fellow undrafted rookie running back David Fluellen, a camp body who was buried on Philadelphia’s depth chart.

No doubt the relationship between general managers Howie Roseman and Ryan Grigson—the latter once a part of the Eagles organization—helped get a deal done. Fluellen isn’t on the Colts’ roster, their practice squad or anywhere else in the NFL for that matter.

With few real kicking vacancies around the league, there’s a chance Parkey would’ve ended up in Philly eventually regardless. This way, though, the coaching staff was able to get a look at him before the regular season began.

That came in handy when Henery missed a 31-yard field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ensuing preseason contest. Parkey was up next, and the Eagles haven’t looked back.

Still, at the time there was no telling how long their marriage would last.

The front office could have found an established player after cuts were made. Parkey could’ve struggled out of the gate, forcing a hasty decision early in the season. Some even had their eyes on Week 5, when Pro Bowler Matt Prater was eligible to return to the Denver Broncos from a four-game suspension, which would inevitably make someone available.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

To his credit, 22-year-old Parkey kicked as if there was never any doubt, like his job wasn’t on the line. Lo and behold, it isn’t anymore.

Right now, Philadelphia’s kicking situation looks beautiful. At an often-fickle position prone to streaky performances and superstition, I just hope I haven’t jinxed it.