The Kansas City Chiefs are continuing to rebuild their entire secondary with the news that Ron Parker will soon be released.
According to a report from Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star, Ron Parker will be the latest member of the Kansas City Chiefs secondary to leave the team as he will be released for salary cap reasons.
In March of 2015, Parker signed a five-year, $25 million deal with the Chiefs, but his escalating cost combined with a slight decline in productivity forced the Chiefs to make a move. He was slated for a salary cap hit of just under $7 million in 2018.
Parker has been with the Chiefs ever since then general manager John Dorsey claimed him on waivers shortly before Dorsey and Andy Reid’s first regular season in power. He entered the league with the Seattle Seahawks and spent multiple seasons bouncing between Seattle and other teams like the Oakland Raiders and Carolina Panthers.
That waiver claim went on to be one of Dorsey’s smartest moves as Parker quickly became a valuable player in the secondary known for his diversity as well as a much-higher ceiling than anyone could have anticipated. Together with Eric Berry, Parker helped form one of the league’s top safety combos for the last few years.
Parker started 64 total games for the Chiefs over the last 5 seasons, including all 16 last year. He has 9 career interceptions, all with the Chiefs, and 43 passes defended. He also has 7 career sacks, 5 forced fumbles and a total of 318 tackles.
While Parker might not command another multi-year contract like the Chiefs gave him in 2015, he should have no problem finding a new franchise given his durability and versatility to play multiple roles in the secondary.