New Titans kicker Cody Parkey has moved on from double doink: ‘It’s a new year’

Cody Parkey learned a lot about perseverance, about how to “respond and how to get back to it” because “not everything is going to go your way.”

It certainly didn’t for Parkey in Chicago, where his tumultuous stint with the Bears ended in dramatic failure.

In a playoff game against the Eagles last season, Parkey, whom the Titans signed Tuesday to replace Cairo Santos, lined up for a 43-yard field-goal attempt with 10 seconds left that would have sent the Bears past Philadelphia and into the divisional round. But his kick hit the upright and the crossbar before bouncing out, sealing Philly’s 16-15 win. The infamous double doink.

“It’s a new year,” Parkey said Wednesday. “It’s 2019, not ’18 anymore. We’re chugging along, and I’m just excited to be a Titan.”

Parkey, who hit the uprights six times last season, went 23-of-30 on field goals and 42-of-45 on extra points with Chicago in 2018.

Santos, signed in the week leading up to the Titans’ season opener, missed all four of his field-goal attempts (one was blocked) in Sunday’s 14-7 loss to the Bills, cuing Tennessee to waive him Monday. Parkey is the new temporary solution until Ryan Succop gets back. Succop was placed on injured reserve before Week 1 and can’t return to game action until Week 9.

“We feel comfortable now going forward here with Cody,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said.

The Titans worked out both Santos and Parkey as they looked for a replacement for Succop in September. They opted to go with Santos initially — “It was really close,” Vrabel said — and the Brazilian-born kicker fared well to start, converting four of five field goals through the first four weeks before his Week 5 meltdown.

Parkey said he wasn’t with an NFL team during training camp but had received a few calls for workouts. His time since last season has been spent training and working on his fundamentals in Jupiter, Florida, with his wife, and relaxing with family.

And waiting.

“Every Sunday, you kind of see what’s going on around the league and you’re just waiting,” Parkey said. ”Me as a kicker, I’ve played for a little bit now. I never hope for anyone to do bad, but now it’s my opportunity now to show the people what I can do.”

Yes, this is a shot at redemption for the 27-year-old Auburn product, who said a lot of what goes into his job is mental.

“A lot of it. A lot of it is mental,” he said. “You take the good with (the bad). Everyone misses here and there; it’s just how you respond.

“I think everything happens for a reason. So there’s a reason I’m here in Tennessee, and I’m looking forward to the game on Sunday.”

Parkey doesn’t anticipate much of an adjustment period with holder Brett Kern and long snapper Beau Brinkley.

“Cody and I were actually texting (Tuesday) about it,” Kern said. ”Just asked him what kind of tilt he likes, what kind of lean he likes, and thankfully most of the kickers in the league are pretty much — they like it a certain way, for the most part. ... (A)ll I really need to do is see it a couple of times and we’ll be good to go.”

Parkey’s first test with the Titans will come Sunday in Denver, where, he said, he’s kicked once before. His confidence level?

“Very high,” Parkey said. “It’s as high as it’s been in the last five seasons I’ve had. I’ve had some success in this league, and I plan on continuing to do so.”

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