Ron Parker - Pro Football Rumors

Falcons To Release Ron Parker

August 31st, 2018 at 1:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ron Parker‘s stay in Atlanta turned out to be short. The Falcons are releasing the veteran defensive back, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Parker announced his release.

The Falcons signed the safety as a possible depth piece during the summer. Parker started four seasons with the Chiefs, serving as Eric Berry‘s top back-line sidekick and frequently defending slot receivers.

The Chiefs released Parker in March. Atlanta returns starters Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal, with the former signing an extension earlier this summer. Parker played five seasons with the Chiefs, shifting from cornerback to safety. He’s on the market again, not having to pass through waivers, in advance of what would be his age-31 season.

Atlanta acquired safety Jordan Richards in a trade with New England earlier Friday, and Parker looks like the odd man out. Damontae Kazee, a 2017 fifth-round pick, remains on the roster as well, Kemal Ishmael re-signed with the Falcons this offseason.

Details On Ron Parker’s Falcons Contract

June 26th, 2018 at 6:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The free agent safety market finally budged Monday when veteran Ron Parker agreed to a one-year deal with the Falcons, but as Field Yates of ESPN.com notes (Twitter link), the details of Parker’s contract indicate the remaining crop of free agent defensive backs could have trouble garnering any significant money before the regular season gets underway.

Parker, who had been earning $5MM annually with the Chiefs before being released earlier this year, inked a minimum salary benefit pact with Atlanta, per Yates. Minimum salary benefit contracts, or MSBs, allow teams to sign veteran players at a cheaper salary cap cost, while still allowing the player to collect the minimum salary for his years of NFL service. Parker, for example, will earn a base salary of $915K in 2018, but he’ll only count for $630K on the Falcons’ cap.

Pro Football Rumors has examined the minimum salary benefit in the past, but in its simplest form, the rule is designed to favor veteran players. The rule is especially effective at this time of year, when clubs are attempting to fill in the back end of their respective rosters. If two prospective additions are comparable players, a team might prefer to sign the free agent with fewer years of NFL experience (who will in turn require a cheaper minimum salary). But thanks to the MSB rule, veterans such as Parker are able to collect their rightful paycheck while not overly affecting a club’s salary cap.

The macro effect of Parker’s deal with the Falcons on the safety market isn’t yet clear, but his low salary is far from good news for remaining free agent defensive backs such as Eric Reid, Tre Boston, and Kenny Vaccaro. However, Parker is older than all three of those players, graded worse than Reid and Boston in Pro Football Focus‘ positional rankings, and placed below all three safeties in Pro Football Rumors’ early March free agent breakdown.

Falcons To Sign Ron Parker

June 25th, 2018 at 11:26am CST by Zachary Links

Former Chiefs safety Ron Parker is expected to sign with the Falcons on Monday, sources tell Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).

The free agent safety market has moved at a glacial pace this offseason and Parker was one of several vets without work in June. Tre Boston, Eric Reid, Kenny Vaccaro, and several other experienced safeties continue to hunt for a job, but Parker has found an NFL home for the 2018 season.

Parker started in 64 of the Chiefs’ last 65 games. This offseason, KC opted to let him go in order to save $5MM with $2MM left over in dead money. His release terminated the five-year, $30MM extension he signed in 2015.

In his run with the Chiefs, the former UDFA notched 40 pass breakups and intercepted nine passes. His performance slipped in 2017, but he’ll look to get back to his old ways in Atlanta as he enters his age-31 season.

The Falcons will start a solid 1-2 at safety with Keanu Neal at free safety and Ricardo Allen delivering the big hits at strong safety. Parker projects to serve as one of the top safeties off of the bench with Kemal Ishmael, Damontae Kazee, and Tyson Graham among those also pushing for time.

Chiefs To Release Ron Parker

March 12th, 2018 at 11:43am CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs are officially cutting Ron Parker on Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). This news was expected and won’t cost the franchise too much in dead money.

Kansas City turned to Parker as a four-season starter at safety, with the second, third and fourth seasons coming on a second Chiefs contract the defensive back signed in March of 2015. Parker has been one of the most durable players at his position since becoming a perennial K.C. starter, suiting up for 64 of the past 65 games — all starts for a near-annual playoff entrant.

Parker will tag the Chiefs with a $2MM dead-money charge, but the franchise will save $5MM after this move.

Initially taking over as a first-string safety after Eric Berry was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, Parker signed a five-year, $30MM deal and was Berry’s running mate on three Chiefs playoff teams over the past three years. The 30-year-old former UDFA notched 40 pass breakups and intercepted nine passes as a Chief, with the team often using the former cornerback’s skills as a slot corner to help its defense.

However, Parker’s 2017 play was not on par with his usual work. And the retooling defense will move on after five seasons.

Top 2018 Free Agents By Position: Defense

March 6th, 2018 at 5:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

NFL free agency will get underway on Wednesday, March 14th, and while the list of free agents will change between now and then, we do have some idea of who will be available when free agency kicks off. The frenzy is right around the corner and it’s time for us to break down the outlook for each position. After looking at offense on Monday, we’ll tackle defense and special teams today.

Listed below are our rankings for the top 15 free agents at each defensive position. These rankings aren’t necessarily determined by the value of the contracts – or the amount of guaranteed money – that each player is expected to land in free agency. These are simply the players we like the most at each position, with both short- and long-term value taken into account.

Restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, as well as players who received the franchise tag, aren’t listed here, since the roadblocks in place to hinder another team from actually acquiring most of those players prevent them from being true free agents.

We’ll almost certainly be higher or lower on some free agents than you are, so feel free to weigh in below in our comments section to let us know which players we’ve got wrong.

Here’s our breakdown of the current top 15 free agents by defensive position for 2018:

Edge defender:

As a positional group, pass rushers comprise interesting market on the defensive side of the ball. It’s not often that a list of best available players is topped by a 38-year-old, but Peppers is the top free agent edge defender after the Cowboys and Lions deployed the franchise tag on Demarcus Lawrence and Ezekiel Ansah, respectively. As with quarterbacks, NFL clubs are extremely reluctant to allow pass rushers to hit the open market, so top-tier options are rarely ever truly “available.” Peppers, for his part, hasn’t even declared whether he’ll return in 2018, but indications are that he’ll suit up for a 17th campaign after posting 11 sacks last year.

Alongside Peppers, other veterans populate the edge market, and while William Hayes may not be a household name, he’ll be a contributor for whichever team signs him. A stout run defender, Hayes is also capable of generating pressure despite managing only one sack in 2017. The Dolphins used Hayes on only 271 defensive snaps a season ago, and have since replaced him by acquiring fellow defensive end Robert Quinn from the Rams. Now that he’s entering his age-33 season, Hayes should come cheap, but will almost assuredly outplay his contract.

Nearly every other available pass rusher has some sort of flaw which will likely limit his market next week. Trent Murphy is only 27 years old and put up nine sacks in 2016, but he missed the entirety of the 2017 campaign with injury. Pernell McPhee, Alex Okafor, Junior Galette, and Derrick Shelby have also been plagued by health questions in recent seasons. And Adrian Clayborn famously registered the majority of his 2017 sacks (and 20% of his career sack total) in one game against overwhelmed Cowboys backup Chaz Green.

The two names that I keep coming back to are Aaron Lynch (49ers) and Jeremiah Attaochu (Chargers). Yes, Lynch has been suspended for substance abuse, struggled with his weight, and was reportedly in danger of being waived prior to last season. He’s also extremely young (he won’t turn 25 years old until Thursday) and ranked fifth in the league with 34 pass pressures as recently as 2015. Attaochu, a 25-year-old former second-round pick, also has youth on his side, and while he hasn’t quite flashed as much as Lynch, he’s also been buried on LA’s depth chart for much of his career.

Interior defensive line:

Interior rushers are getting more respect in today’s NFL, but that still hasn’t translated to them being paid on the level of edge defenders — the 2018 franchise tag for defensive tackles, for example, is roughly $3MM cheaper than the tender for edge rushers. While the 2018 crop of interior defenders boasts some impressive top-end talent, none of the available players figure to earn a double-digit annual salary. Sheldon Richardson may have the best chance to do so, but Seattle determined he wasn’t worth a one-year cost of $13.939MM, so is any other club going to pay him $10MM per year? I’d guess he comes in closer to $9MM annually, which would still place him among the 25 highest-paid defensive tackles.

Dontari Poe will be an intriguing free agent case after setting for a one-year deal last offseason, but the most interesting battle among defensive tackles will take place Star Lotulelei and Muhammad Wilkerson, and I’m curious to see which player earns more on the open market. Both are former first-round picks, and it’s difficult to argue Wilkerson hasn’t been the more productive player — or, at least, reached higher highs — than Lotulelei. Wilkerson also won’t affect his next team’s compensatory pick formula given that he was released, but his off-field issues, which include a reported lack of effort and problems with coaches, could limit his appeal.

While Beau Allen and Denico Autry are potentially candidates to be overpaid based on their youth, there are bargains to be had at defensive tackle. Tom Johnson is 33 but he’s offered consistent pressure from the interior for years — his last contract was for three years and $7MM, so he shouldn’t cost much this time around. Haloti Ngata was injured in 2017 but plans to continue his career, and he can still stop the run. And Dominique Easley was outstanding as a 3-4 end in 2016 before missing last season with a torn ACL, meaning the former first-round pick could be a value play for any number of teams.Read more

Linebacker:

Although there are a number of high-quality starting linebackers available in free agency this year, I predict most contracts signed by LBs over the next few weeks will come in lower that most expect. The linebacker market is relatively stagnant, and unless the player is a legitimate star or inking an extension with his original club, he’s usually disappointed with his annual value. The most expensive deal for an unrestricted free agent ‘backer who signed with a new team was Bruce Irvin‘s $9.25MM/year pact with the Raiders, and Irvin can almost be considered an edge rusher. After Irvin, it’s Danny Trevathan, whom the Bears signed for a $7MM annual value in 2016.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise if no linebacker listed above is able to top Trevathan’s two-year-old average, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t starting-caliber LBs on the market. Zach Brown, the poster boy for having to accept cheap contracts, is coming off another solid season, but is reportedly asking for top-three inside linebacker money. Good luck. Similarly, Demario Davis is looking for $8-10MM annually, while the Jets — who have interest in re-signing him — view him as a $3-4MM/year player.

Nigel Bradham and NaVorro Bowman should both come in around Trevathan’s $7MM average after posting excellent 2017 campaigns. While the Eagles would surely prefer to re-sign Bradham, the club’s dire cap situation may mean Bradham will hit the open market next Wednesday. Bowman, meanwhile, was traded from the 49ers to Raiders last season, and he seems like a good bet to stay with Oakland after new defensive coordinator Paul Guenther heaped lavish praise on the 29-year-old.

Cornerback:

Top-to-bottom, the cornerback market is the deepest positional group on the defensive side of the ball. Need a No. 1 defensive back with experience in both man and zone? Trumaine Johnson is your guy. How about a top-end cornerback who, while admittedly up-and-down at times, has the ability to shut down opposing wide receivers? Malcolm Butler has you covered. A former first-round pick who has finally played up to his potential over the past two seasons? Take a look at Morris Claiborne. Or is a career journeyman who posted 10 excellent games last year more your speed? Look into Rashaan Melvin.

Slot cornerbacks are also prevalent in this year’s defensive back market, and while I ranked Aaron Colvin, T.J. Carrie, Patrick Robinson, and Nickell Robey-Coleman in order of my preference, they could each be plugged into a starting nickel package immediately. I originally though Robinson could land a disappointing deal given his age (31) and his track record of underwhelming play prior to 2017, but he’s already garnering interest from the Giants, Raiders, and Cardinals, so his market should allow him to reach at least $5MM annually. Colvin could garner even more than Robinson thanks his youth (26), and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com expects Colvin to have a “legit” market.

If teams are looking for a bargain at cornerback, they should target Ross Cockrell, whom the Steelers dealt to the Giants last year for a seventh-round pick. Cockrell has always been overlooked in the NFL, but he keeps producing results. In 2017, Cockrell finished first in Football Outsiders’ success rate, which measures cornerbacks on their ability to consistently stop opposing wideouts short of the sticks. In fact, Cockrell was one of only eight defenders who stopped a receiver short of a successful gain on over half their tackles a season ago, as FO’s Aaron Schatz recently tweeted, but the league consistently undervalues him and his skill-set.

Safety:

The best free agent safety was taken off the board earlier today when the Rams used the franchise tag on Lamarcus Joyner, and the remaining market is extremely top-heavy. Eric Reid, Morgan Burnett, Tre Boston, and Kenny Vaccaro could all be in line for at least $5MM annually, but the rest of the class could struggle to find multi-year deals. Among the top-tier safeties, Vaccaro stands out as perhaps the most interesting name. A first-round pick in 2013, Vaccarro has posted three exemplary campaigns and two dreadful years; in 2017, Pro Football Focus ranked Vaccaro as the single-worst safety in the league among 87 qualifiers. But given his draft pedigree and his ability to man the slot, Vaccaro should land a solid deal.

While I like Reid and Burnett a bit more as players, it wouldn’t be a shock if Boston actually lands the largest contract. Reid and Burnett spend a lot of time close to the line of scrimmage, and both have been used as de factor linebackers from time to time. Boston, on the other hand, is a deep safety who can play coverage, and that repertoire is much more difficult to find on the open market. Similarly, Tyvon Branch has been great in coverage during his career with the Raiders, Chiefs, and Cardinals, so he could also see a nice pay bump next week.

After Branch, the crop of available safeties steeply drops off. Every other free agent we’ve listed above will be at at least 29 years old when the 2018 gets underway except for the Lions’ Tavon Wilson, and he was one of the NFL’s worst starting defensive backs last season. Veterans like Corey Graham or Ron Parker can still play as third safeties who see time in “big nickel” packages, but if you’re looking for a starting safety, you’ll want to bring in one of the top six defensive backs on the board.

Kicker:

Punter:

Chiefs Expected To Release Ron Parker

February 26th, 2018 at 4:25pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs are expected to part ways with Ron Parker this offseason, sources tell Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. By cutting the safety, KC will save nearly $5MM against the salary cap with just $2MM in dead money.

The Chiefs re-signed Parker to a five-year, $30MM deal during the 2015 offseason, a pact that seemed a little rich at the time given his level of experience. Parker established new career highs across the board in 2014, but that was his very first season as a starter.

In 2017, Parker had the worst Pro Football Focus score of his career (40.1) and rated as one of the worst qualified safeties in the NFL. With his 31st birthday around the corner in August, it’s not a surprise to hear that the Chiefs are looking to cut bait.

Once Parker is cut and the trades of quarterback Alex Smith and cornerback Marcus Peters are made official, the Chiefs are expected to have roughly $19MM in cap space to work with. They’ll gain another $6.6MM in cap space if outside linebacker Tamba Hali retires or is released.

FA Notes: Freeman, Irving, Moore, Mays

March 16th, 2015 at 4:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Tim Tebow isn’t the only free agent quarterback attempting an NFL comeback. Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report tweets that ex-Buccaneers signal-caller Josh Freeman recently worked out for the Jets and has several other clubs taking a “hard look” at him. Freeman’s NFL success, which included a 4,000-yard season in 2012, was viewed as more sustainable than Tebow’s, so it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see a team give him a shot this summer.

Let’s check in on a few other free agent items from around the NFL….

Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter links) has updates on a pair of free agent defenders, reporting that linebacker Nate Irving is visiting the Colts, while defensive back Sterling Moore is on track to visit the 49ers after meeting with the Steelers.
There’s mutual interest between the Dolphins and quarterback Matt Moore, who has backed up Ryan Tannehill in recent years, writes Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. However, Moore only wants to return at fair market value, so the free agent quarterback will probably be more inclined to explore his options than to re-sign with Miami for a hometown discount.
Washington continues to show interest in safety Taylor Mays, and the sides are trying to work out a possible visit, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com.
Ron Parker drew plenty of reported interest during his few days on the open market, but the Chiefs safety said today that the Falcons were the team with the most interest in him, besides Kansas City, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.
Speaking to reporters today, including Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link), Tyrunn Walker said he was offered a three-year contract by the Patriots but opted for a one-year pact with the Lions instead. I’m guessing the Pats’ offer likely didn’t include any guaranteed money beyond the first year, so opting for Detroit instead will give Walker more freedom, and could land him a larger deal next winter if he has a good year for the Lions.

AFC North Notes: Steelers, Ravens, T. Williams

March 16th, 2015 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The five-year, $99MM extension Ben Roethlisberger signed with the Steelers last week pays him more than $35MM in 2015, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who provides some details on the quarterback’s new deal. Bouchette reports that Big Ben gets a $31MM signing bonus, and could earn up to $9MM in incentives in later seasons, potentially increasing the total value of the contract to $108MM.

Here’s more from around the AFC North:

Free agent defensive back Sterling Moore, who paid a visit to the Buccaneers last week, has a meeting lined up with the Steelers this week, tweets Josina Anderson of ESPN.com. Non-tendered by the Cowboys, Moore arrives in Pittsburgh tonight and his visit with the team will continue tomorrow, per Anderson.
The Ravens ultimately signed Kendrick Lewis to address their need at safety, but the club also had interest in Ron Parker before he decided to return to Kansas City, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Speaking of Ravens’ secondary targets, Wilson reports in a separate piece for the Sun that Baltimore is currently eyeing cornerback Tramon Williams, who has also received interest from the division-rival Browns.
In a piece naming 10 of his favorite team-friendly deals of free agency so far, Grantland’s Bill Barnwell places the Ravens‘ signing of Justin Forsett atop his list.
Free agent wide receiver Cecil Shorts is paying a visit to the Texans this week, but the Ohio native doesn’t have a visit lined up with the Browns, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
Earlier today, Cabot reported that the Browns attempted to trade for Larry Fitzgerald before he worked out a new contract with the Cardinals.

Contract Updates: Manning, Suh, Parker

March 14th, 2015 at 2:58pm CST by Rob DiRe

Peyton Manning‘s contract restructure with the Broncos includes a no-trade clause, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. However, that clause only applies for 2015, so theoretically the Broncos would be free to trade him after this season.

Ndamukong Suh‘s new contract included $60MM in guaranteed money, and Florio says that money will be paid to Suh over the first three years of the contract. Following that, Suh has “rolling guarantees,” and the Dolphins will have to guarantee his salary on the fifth day of each league year. The defensive tackle will earn $16.985 in 2018, $18.985 in 2019 and $18.36 million in 2020.
Ron Parker‘s five year, $30MM contract with the Chiefs includes $8MM in guaranteed money, including a $5MM signing bonus, according to Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). He also notes that $5MM of the total $30MM value comes in incentives like playoff appearances and interceptions.
Lance Kendricks‘ contract with the Rams will pay him $18.5MM over four years, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). He will count $5.6MM against the cap in 2015, which includes $1.5MM in base salary and a $4MM roster bonus (via Twitter).
Kendall Langford‘s new contract with the Colts is a four-year deal worth $17.2MM, but only $2.5MM of that money is guaranteed, according to Thomas (via Twitter). He received a $1MM signing bonus and a $1.5MM roster bonus, to go along with a $2.5MM base salary in 2015 (via Twitter).
New Steeler DeAngelo Williams new two-year contract is worth $4MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
Kenny Britt re-signed with the Rams on a two-year deal worth $14MM, but the second year of the contract is voidable based on performance milestones, reports Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 (via Twitter).

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Chiefs Re-Sign Ron Parker

March 14th, 2015 at 12:32pm CST by Ben Levine

Another free agent safety is off the board, as Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter) that the Chiefs have re-signed Ron Parker to a five-year, $30MM deal. The deal follows lengthy overnight negotiations, reports Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.

$30MM is a lot of money to commit to a player with only a single seasons worth of starting experience. However, after establishing career-highs across the board in 2014, Parker may be worth it. The 27-year-old started 15 games for the Chiefs last season, compiling 94 tackles, 12 passes defended, one interception and one forced fumble. Despite the solid numbers, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) wasn’t impressed by Parker’s performance. The former Newberry College standout played 745 of his 1,037 snaps at safety, and PFF ranked him 73rd among 87 safety candidates.

Parker had previously met with the Bears, but he left Chicago without a deal. The Buccaneers were also rumored to be interested. He was an honorable mention in our rankings of the top 50 free agents.