Parkey says competition will make him better

BEREA, Ohio — Kicker Cody Parkey thought he had shown the Browns he could handle anything during a topsy-turvy 2016 season.

Through the highs, lows, makes and misses, he was steady.

And then draft day arrived.

After missing three field goals in his debut last season, Parkey, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie for Philadelphia in 2014 only to be waived two years later, rebounded and converted 20 of 22 attempts. His personal comeback was lost in the mess of the Browns’ 1-15 season.

When it ended, Parkey was confident the Browns believed in him, and the 27-yearold assumed his job was secure at least for another season.

That all changed when the team selected Arizona State All-American Zane Gonzalez, the most prolific kicker in college history, in the seventh round of this year’s NFL draft.

“I was kind of taken aback,” Parkey said Monday. “But I was reassured that it was going to be an open competition. And it just kind of makes me want to work harder, just to prove people wrong about me.”

The kicking battle between Parkey and Gonzalez has evolved into one of the tightest this summer, with each squib and shank analyzed and graded. Parkey has been more consistent, but coach Hue Jackson indicated that the starting job remains up for grabs.

“I think it is kind of close,” he said. “I am not going to say which way it is.”