Chicago Bears: 5 worst free agent signings by Ryan Pace

Cody Parkey

Well, the worst Ryan Pace free-agent signings list would not be complete without Cody Parkey. Parkey is infamous in Chicago. He is known for his “doinks” and even his “double-doink” in the Bears playoff loss to the Eagles. His miss in the Eagles game was the worst one of all as the Bears drove down the field with a chance to put the game away. Had Parkey made the field goal, the Bears would have advanced to the next round of the playoffs. Maybe even won the Super Bowl.

Instead, Parkey missed and found himself on the unemployment line. Parkey went on a national media tour after the loss and could have also contributed to him being cut. Parkey was still being paid over $4 million in dead cap last season. What might be worse is that he is being paid another million in dead cap this season. His presence and stench of failure just cannot seem to go away.

Ryan Pace signed Parkey to a four-year, $15 million dollar deal with $9 million guaranteed. Parkey made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season and made 91.3 percent of his kicks in 2017. In Chicago, he only made 76.7 percent of his kicks during the regular season. This included four kicks he bounced off the uprights. He only lasted one season though and was the reason the team had to go through a kicking circus during the 2019 offseason.

Parkey was not the only player to make a bunch of money while only lasting one season. He finds himself as the second-worst free-agent signing of Pace’s career. Pace continues to try and replace Robbie Gould, but signing Parkey was not the worst free-agent move.