NASHVILLE - Cody Parkey is in the NFL again, and he's not looking back.
The 27-year-old kicker, who signed with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday, wants to keep memories of 2018 - especially his field-goal attempt now commonly known as the "Double Doink" - in the past.
"It's a new year," Parkey said Wednesday. "It's 2019, not '18 anymore, and we're just chugging along. I'm just excited to be a Titan."
Tennessee (2-3) added Parkey after releasing Cairo Santos on Monday, a day after he missed three field-goal attempts and had a fourth blocked in a 14-7 home loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Ryan Succop, the Titans' kicker since 2014, went on injured reserve just before the season opener and won't be eligible to be return to the active roster for three more games.
The Titans signed Santos on Sept. 4 after he and Parkey tried out, but now Parkey has the job. Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said both kickers were very close in that workout, with each making every kick asked.
AP photo by James Kenney / Cairo Santos (7), shown during the Tennessee Titans' 14-7 loss to Buffalo on Sunday in Nashville, was released Monday after missing three field-goal attempts and having another blocked by the Bills."In the end, you have to make decisions," Vrabel said, "so we've moved on now here to Cody and we'll get started with that here today."
Santos was in training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past summer before they released him at the end of the preseason. He went 4-of-9 with the Titans on field-goal attempts, though he did connect on all 12 extra-point tries.
Parkey had been working out on his own at home in Jupiter, Florida, since the Chicago Bears released him in March despite having signed the kicker to a four-year contract before the 2018 season. Parkey was 23-of-30 on field-goal attempts during the 2018 regular season, the third-lowest conversion rate in the NFL, and 42-of-45 on extra point tries.
His 43-yard attempt in the final seconds of the Bears' wild-card playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Chicago turned out to be a painful finish to his time with the Bears. Parkey made a kick that didn't count because of a timeout, but his official try hit the left upright before bouncing off the crossbar, no good. The NFL eventually ruled the kick had been blocked; defensive tackle Treyvon Hester tipped the ball.
Parkey said the experience has taught him perseverance.
"Not everything's going to go your way, so it's about how you respond and how you get back to it," the former Auburn University kicker said. "Never stay defeated and continue to put your best foot forward."
If he was surprised at what happened in Chicago, he isn't saying - at least not now.
"I've answered those questions enough," explained Parkey, who said he tried out for some other NFL teams in recent weeks. "That's last year's business. I'm just here to kick for the Titans."
He has connected on 99 of 118 (83.9%) field-goal attempts and 149 of 156 (95.5 percent) extra-point tries in an NFL career in which he has kicked for Chicago (2018), Philadelphia (2014-15), the Cleveland Browns (2016) and the Miami Dolphins (2017). He is 7-for-9 on kicks from 50 yards or longer.
Now he has to get up to speed with holder Brett Kern - who also punts - and long snapper Beau Brinkley before Sunday's game at Denver (1-4). The Broncos lead the NFL with five blocks since the start of the 2018 season, and Dre'Mont Jones blocked a 48-yard field goal last Sunday in their road win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
"I had plenty of bad games," Parkey said. "I bounced back the next game with a good game. It's all about coming back the next game and doing what you do."