NFL preseason roundup: Cody Parkey misses turn in Browns’ kicking competition – AL.com

When Chase McLaughlin came out to attempt a 49-yard field goal with 2:34 left in the Cleveland Browns’ NFL preseason game against the New York Giants on Sunday, he shouldn’t have been on the field. It was Cody Parkey’s turn to kick.

After McLaughlin made the field goal to cap Cleveland’s 17-13 victory, he kicked off. But McLaughlin shouldn’t have. Again, it was Parkey’s turn.

After the game, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Parkey, a former Auburn standout, had sustained a quadriceps injury.

In Sunday’s other NFL preseason game, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 15-10.

Until the fourth quarter on Sunday, Cleveland had two alternating rotations for its kickers – one for scoring kicks and the other for kickoffs.

In the Browns’ 23-13 preseason victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, McLaughlin got first crack at a scoring kick and Parkey was the first to kick off. In Sunday’s game, they switched that order.

Against Jacksonville, McLauglin made a field goal and two extra points and Parkey made two field goals while each kicked off three times.

Against the Giants, McLaughlin kicked off to start the game. Parkey then made the first scoring kick – an extra point. Parkey followed with the kickoff for a touchback. That gave McLaughlin the next scoring kick – another PAT – and the next kickoff. But the next scoring kick was the 49-yard field goal, and that should have been Parkey’s turn, as should have the subsequent kickoff.

During his postgame press conference, Stefanski said he didn’t know the severity of Parkey’s injury.

“I don’t know. I really don’t,” Stefanski said. “He did it at some point, but I’m not sure when.”

Cleveland re-signed Parkey to a one-year, $1,212,500 contract in March that included a $137,500 signing bonus and $200,000 in guaranteed money. But the Browns also claimed McLaughlin off waivers on May 10 after he’d been released by the New York Jets.

Parkey started the 2020 season on the Cleveland practice squad. In the Browns’ 38-6 season-opening loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland kicker Austin Seibert missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt and an extra-point try and had his two kickoffs returned for 64 yards. The Browns released Seibert and promoted Parkey before the second game.

Parkey made 19-of-22 field-goal attempts and 43-of-47 extra-point kicks in 15 regular-season games and went 3-of-3 on field goals and 8-of-8 on extra points in two playoff contests last season.

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In the previous two seasons, McLaughlin has kicked in 15 games for five teams. In 2020 in three games with the Jaguars and one with the New York Jets, McLaughlin made 4-of-5 field-goal attempts and 5-of-6 point-after kicks.

The Browns haven’t had the same primary kicker in consecutive seasons since Billy Cundiff handled that duty in the 2014 and 2015 campaigns.

In addition to Parkey, nine players from Alabama high schools and colleges got on the field during the New York-Cleveland game:

· Ryan Anderson (Daphne, Alabama) started at outside linebacker for the Giants. Anderson made three tackles and shared a sack.

· Giants cornerback James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) did not play.

· Browns safety Ronnie Harrison (Alabama) did not play.

· Chris Hubbard (UAB) started at right offensive tackle for the Browns.

· Giants safety Chris Johnson (Oak Mountain) played but did not record any stats.

· Xavier McKinney (Alabama) started at safety for the Giants. McKinney made two tackles.

· Reggie Ragland (Bob Jones, Alabama) started at linebacker for the Giants. Ragland made three tackles.

· Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson (Alabama) is on the physically-unable-to-perform list and was ineligible to play.

· Browns wide receiver Anthony Schwartz (Auburn) did not play.

· Chad Slade (Moody, Auburn) started at right offensive tackle for the Giants.

· Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton (Auburn) did not play.

· Giants long snapper Carson Tinker (Alabama) handled the snaps in the second half, with incumbent Casey Kreiter doing the first-half snapping. Tinker snapped on three punts. Kreiter snapped on three punts and an extra point.

· Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) did not play.

· Giants wide receiver Damion Willis (Troy) caught two passes for 21 yards.

· Browns offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (Alabama) did not play.

· Browns linebacker Mack Wilson (Carver-Montgomery, Alabama) made two tackles.

San Francisco 49ers 15, Los Angeles Chargers 10

Four players from Alabama high schools and colleges got on the field during the San Francisco-Los Angeles game:

· Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama) started at safety for the 49ers. Clinton-Dix tied for the team lead with four tackles in his first NFL action since Dec. 29, 2019. Clinton-Dix did not play last season.

· Forty-Niners offensive tackle Shon Coleman (Auburn) did not play.

· Forty-Niners defensive end Dee Ford (St. Clair County, Auburn) did not play.

· Chargers punter Ty Long (UAB) averaged 44.0 yards, with a 36.3-yard net, on seven punts.

· Forty-Niners tight end Jordan Matthews (Madison Academy) played but did not record any stats.

· Forty-Niners safety Jared Mayden (Alabama) made one tackle and intercepted a pass, which he returned 54 yards for a touchdown. However, a holding penalty on the return nullified the score, limiting Mayden to an official return of 16 yards. Mayden intercepted a second-and-19 throw from the Los Angeles 43-yard line by Chargers quarterback Chase Daniel with 13:16 left in the game.

· Chargers long snapper Cole Mazza (Alabama) did not play. Mazza sustained a shoulder injury last week in Los Angeles’ preseason opener.

· Forty-Niners safety Jaquiski Tartt (Davidson, Samford) is on the physically-unable-to-perform list and was ineligible to play.

· Forty-Niners safety Jimmie Ward (Davidson) did not play.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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