The importance of Ron Parker’s return to the Kansas City Chiefs

Ron Parker’s return should alleviate some of the concerns (and potential issues) that could arise from the situations developing at safety.

The last week has been interesting for the Kansas City Chiefs. They made all their mandatory cuts, traded for cornerback Charvarius Ward, dealt for safety Jordan Lucas, put together their 10-man practice squad,and brought back a familiar face. That last move might prove to be among the most important.

The Chiefs had a verbal agreement in place shortly after the news broke that former safety Ron Parker had been cut by the Atlanta Falcons. Brett Veach wasted no time getting on the horn to discuss Parker’s potential return.

On August 31, Parker let it be known that he’d failed to make the Falcons:

Less than 24 hours later, things were already figured out.

Parker is a guy who was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks in 2011. From 2011 until 2012 he bounced around between the Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers, and eventually back to Seattle. In these 2 years between these 3 teams he played in a total of 10 games tallied a total of 3 tackles.

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When Parker was waived by Seattle after the 2012 season, his life was foreverchanged. When former Chiefs general manager John Dorsey grabbed Parker off the waiver wire, the defensive back found his home for the next five seasons.

In his 79 starts over this five-year period, Parker tallied 317 combined tackles, 7 sacks, 43 passes defended, and 9 interceptions. Parker never has had a year in K.C. without at least 1 interception. Sometimes all it takes is someone to believe in a player and give him a real chance.

Unfortunately for the Chiefs, this offseason has been a bit of a nightmare, to say the least, at th safety position. After releasing Ron Parker in March, the position itself has fallen apart.

• During training camp, Daniel Sorensen suffered an MCL injury and lateral meniscus tear in his knee. This same injury kept defensive end J.J. Watt out the final 12 weeks of the 2017 season. 
• Robert Golden, who the Chiefs picked up during free agency, asked for and was granted his release as he didn’t feel the Chiefs where the right fit for him. Note: Golden is currently still a free agent.
• Eric Berry began to have a soreness in his heel that has kept him off the field since August 11th. We are still currently waiting to see if Berry will be available week 1 when the Chiefs travel to play the Los Angeles Chargers.

After roster cuts, this leaves the Chiefs with three guys healthy at the safety position: rookie Armani Watts, third year contributor Eric Murray and the newly-acquired Jordan Lucas. This is not an ideal situation for Week 1.

When the Falcons cut Parker, it opened the door for Brett Veach and the Chiefs to not only add a starting caliber safety but it’s someone who can come in with an intimate knowledge of all aspects involved. He also comes in with a low-cost cap hit of only $630,000. There isn’t another safety on the market who can offer what Parker offers for anything near that price tag.

Bringing Ron Parker back does several very useful things for the Chiefs. If Eric Berry is ready to go and healthy for the season, it gives K.C. a starting duo that has been fairly dominant in previous years together. Parker also gives guys like Armani Watts and Jordan Lucas more time to develop and learn the system behind two veterans who have a lot of knowledge to give.

The biggest advantage this gives the Chiefs is security in case Eric Berry isn’t a go for regular season. If Berry is not ready, we still have a veteran presence on the field who can teach young guys like Watts, Lucas, and Murray the game as they progress.

Some fans do not like Parker’s return. A lot of fans see a guy who is aging, had trouble tackling, and didn’t have a great 2017 season. In reality what they should see is a guy who has been a leader and key contributor since he first arrived. Many times, Parker has had key pass breakups, key third down stops, key sacks or interceptions—always an under-the-radar piece to the defense.

While the situation at safety is far from ideal and the Chiefs have a lot of reasons to be concerned, Parker’s presence will undoubtedly help in myriad ways and was an intelligent move right when the Chiefs needed it most.