K Cody Parkey, WR JoJo Natson, LB Elijah Lee set to return for 2021 season (3.19.21)

For Immediate Release

March 19, 2021

Cleveland retains three more of its players from 2020

By Andrew Gribble, ClevelandBrowns.com Senior Staff Writer

The Browns are set to bring back three more of their players from a memorable 2020 season.

K Cody Parkey, WR JoJo Natson and LB Elijah Lee have agreed to terms on deals that will keep them in Cleveland for another year. They join LB Malcolm Smith and WR Rashard Higgins as players from last year’s team who have agreed to new deals with the Browns.

In his second stint with the team, Parkey took over as the team’s kicker Week 2 and finished the season 19-of-22 on field goals, making all but one of his 11 attempts from 40 yards or more, while going 43-of-47 on extra points. He made all 11 of his kicks (eight extra points, three field goals) in the playoffs. Parkey has been kicking in the NFL since 2014, when he entered the league with the Eagles. He’s connected on 121-of-143 field goals while making all but 12 of his 209 extra point attempts. He’s 6-of-7 on field goal attempts in the playoffs.

Natson, who signed with the Browns at this time last year, earned the role as the Browns’ top returner on kicks and punts entering the 2020 season, but his time on the field was cut short by a knee injury. In three games, Natson returned three punts for 25 yards (long of 13) and one kick for 31 yards. In 2019, Natson set a career high with an average of 22.2 yards per kickoff return, while adding 7.7 yards per punt return with the Rams. His career long punt return came in 2018, when he ran one back for 60 yards, and his longest on a kick came in 2017, when he took one 32 yards.

Claimed via waivers from the Lions midway through the season, Lee appeared in eight games and primarily played on special teams, recording six tackles. Lee, who entered the league as a seventh-round pick out of Kansas State, has appeared in 50 games with six starts, all of which coming during a two-year stint (2018-19) with the 49ers.

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