Browns Key Veteran Suffers Quad Injury Against Giants

Getty Images Cody Parkey (right) of the Cleveland Browns reacts to a field goal.

The heated position battle to be the Cleveland Browns starting kicker might have reached an anticlimactic end, with Cody Parkey suffering a quad injury against the New Yorks Giants on Sunday.

A quad injury is rough for any player, but especially a kicker. At this point, it’s unknown if it will require him to miss any time. Parkey is trying to hold off newcomer Chase McLaughlin for the job. McLaughlin nailed a 49-yard kick against the Giants and converted his only PAT opportunity. Parkey hit his one and only PAT in the game.

The Athletic’s Zac Jackson broke down the kicker battle in his column including observations from the game, albeit it seemed to be before the injury was announced.

Challenger Chase McLaughlin made his 49-yard, fourth-quarter field goal with plenty to spare. McLaughlin got the call because incumbent kicker Cody Parkey is suffering from a quad injury. Parkey’s long last year was 46, which just isn’t good enough, but I still think Parkey remains favored to retain the job.

After a rough start to training camp, Parkey seemed to recover nicely, converting the majority of his kicks during practice. He was 2-for-2 in the Browns first preseason game against the Jaguars, converting a 48-yarder.

The Browns claimed McLaughlin this offseason from the Jets to create a position battle. The well-traveled kicker was thought to be a major underdog but might have a beat on the starting gig if he keeps it up.


McLaughlin Impressing Early With Browns

McLaughlin was waived by the New York Jets in the offseason after joining the team in December following a short stint with the Jaguars. He kicked in one game with the Jets and made both of his extra-point attempts.

McLaughlin originally signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois in 2019. He’s had stints with the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts prior. McLaughlin has made 78.6 percent of his field goal attempts (22 of 28) and 96.9 percent of his extra points (31 of 32) in the NFL.

“Chase is a young man who I really liked from Illinois a couple of years ago,” Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said during minicamp. “He has bounced around the league, as you guys know. Chase provides great competition for Cody. They were very, very even this entire spring.

“It is going to be great competition. I think it is not so much field goals and PATs that probably take some more precedence, but kickoffs, as well. We need to improve our kickoffs, and the kicking part of our kickoffs needs to improve, as well.”

While McLaughlin appears to be in the driver’s seat for the starting gig — especially if Parkey is out — the Browns could also opt to wait until teams start making cuts to see if they can pick up a reliable veteran foot.


Browns Banged Up Follow Second Preseason Game

Getty ImagesGreedy Williams of the Cleveland Browns.

There were 11 Browns players who missed the second preseason game due to injury and more were added to that list following the game. Oft-injured cornerback Greedy Williams suffered a groin injury, while reserve linebacker Montrel Meander suffered an Achilles injury. Like Parkey, the severity of those injuries were not immediately made available.

The Browns have opted to sit a lot of their starters for the first two preseason games, some of the more notable names being Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Baker Mayfield, Myles Garrett and Odell Beckham Jr. They have one more tune-up game left against the Falcons next Sunday.

The Browns open the regular season against the Chiefs on September 12 on the road.

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