MAY 22: The Eagles officially placed Parker on their reserve/retired list Wednesday. Barring a comeback attempt, Parker will wrap his career after seven seasons as a Dolphin, two as a Patriot and two months with the Eagles.
MAY 20: DeVante Parker is calling it a career. After signing with the Eagles earlier this offseason, the veteran wide receiver told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that he has decided to retire.
“I want to see my kids, spend quality time with them,” Parker said of his decision. “I want to be there for them whenever I can.”
The former first-round pick spent the first seven seasons of his career in Miami, including a 2019 campaign where he hauled in 72 catches for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns. Parker ultimately finished his Dolphins career having collected 4,727 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns. While Parker didn’t necessarily live up to his first-round billing in Miami, he still left the organization ranked top-10 in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
“I also appreciate the Dolphins for drafting me and giving me the opportunity,” Parker told Schefter. “I always will have love for the Dolphins and their organization. And I want to thank all the teams, the Patriots and the Eagles, too. But the Dolphins were the first team, and I really want to thank them.”
Parker was traded to the Patriots ahead of the 2022 campaign and ultimately had two inconsistent seasons in New England. The Patriots’ QB uncertainty limited the wideout to only 933 yards in 26 games with the organization, including this past season where he finished with a career-low 394 receiving yards.
He was released by the Patriots in March and quickly caught on with the Eagles, where he was expected to compete for the third spot on the depth chart behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. With Parker out of the picture, the job is now Parris Campbell‘s to lose. The veteran addition will be competing with the likes of rookie Ainias Smith (fifth round) and Johnny Wilson (sixth round) for reps.
Thanks for the memories
Watching him play as a Patriot it looked like he retired 2 years ago.
He was awful on the patriots and old man bill kept extending him.
as a Bills fan I’m kind going to miss this guy ♂️ we’ve been playing against him for almost a decade. He had a few good games against the Bills
Coming into the league, a big part of his reputation was that he was Teddy Bridgewater’s best college receiver. Funny that they ended up retiring the same offseason, even if that wasn’t initially the plan. Kind of a shame they never ended up playing together in the league.
As for the Eagles, I’m curious to see what Johnny Wilson can do as a pro, but not the one who died in 2002, as the link would suggest.
Always thought the guy would turn into one of the league’s best given his size and ability, but it never happened.
“While Parker didn’t necessarily live up to his first-round billing in Miami, he still left the organization ranked top-10 in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.”
Huh? Sounds like a pretty damn good first round pick
I was thinking the same thing. He was the 14th overall pick in that draft. I would guess that any of the teams who took a WR in the 1st round this year would be thrilled to have them end up being in the franchise top-10.
It didn’t seem like he lasted that long, but 9 years is good.
sneaky good WR2 career
This news was so out of left field. Usually Davante would limit letting his team down to the regular season vs the offseason. Made a good pile of dough though for a guy who never lived up to the hype.
I was always worried the Bears would sign or trade for him. I thought he’d be a Chicago Bear for sure before his career was over.
Glad I was wrong.
He was terrible in NE.