Bears to pick up Floyd's option; Parkey's future uncertain

General manager Ryan Pace spoke Monday at the Chicago Bears' end-of-the-season news conference, addressing one player he expects to be on the roster in 2019 and one who might not.

The player in is Leonard Floyd, with Pace stating the Bears intend to pick up the fifth-year option on the outside linebacker's contract. Floyd, a Georgia product, was the No. 9 overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.

It would keep Floyd, 26, with the Bears through the 2020 season. He played all 16 games in 2018, recording 47 tackles, four sacks, one fumble recovery and an interception returned for a touchdown.

The player who might be out is kicker Cody Parkey, whose 43-yard field goal attempt that would have beaten Philadelphia in the NFC wild-card game was no good. Replays showed the ball was tipped.

"That position is an emphasis for us," Pace said. "We understand we need to get better, get more production out of that position. (Coach) Matt (Nagy) talks about it all the time: There's so much parity in our league, so many close games, the kicker position is critical. We know we need to get better there, and it'll be an area of focus."

On the season, Parkey completed 23 of 30 field goal attempts, including just seven of 10 from the 30- to 39-yard range. He was 42 of 45 on extra points.

Nagy also seemed perturbed that Parkey appeared on NBC's "Today" show last week and that he was not told of it in advance.

"For me, you understand that we always talk about a ‘we' and not a ‘me' thing, and we always talk as a team -- we win as a team, we lose as a team," Nagy said. "You know, I just, I didn't necessarily think that that was too much of a ‘we' thing."

Parkey discussed on the show how he was trying to overcome the missed field goal and was panned on social media for this comment:

"Obviously, I'm disappointed," Parkey said. "I let my fans, my teammates and the whole organization down. I'll continue to keep my head held high because football is what I do, it's not who I am."

--Field Level Media