The Eagles agreed to terms with Parker on a one-year deal for the 2023 season and, because of offset language in his contract with the Patriots, are on the hook for just the veteran minimum. This was a low-risk move for the Eagles to bring in the 31-year-old former first round pick.
But Parker thinks he can help the Eagles in 2024 and he pointed at one of his skills in particular: Contested catches.
A pessimist might point out that this late into his career, Parker isn’t getting a ton of separation from opposing defensive backs and that’s not great. But an optimist might say that Parker’s ability to win 50-50 balls is something that has stood out throughout his nine-year career.
And even at 30 years old, Parker (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) was able to haul in 10 contested catches in 2023, according to ProFootballFocus. And his contested catch rate was higher than that of his new star teammates Brown and Smith:
You might remember one of his performances that year. In fact, it’s still the best game of his lengthy career. Parker had 7 catches for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Eagles in a 37-31 Dolphins win at Hard Rock Stadium on Dec. 1, 2019. The Eagles could not defend Parker and Ryan Fitzpatrick kept hitting him.
“I remember a lot,” Parker said of that game in 2019. “It first started off, I remember I was making a lot of crucial catches that we needed for the team. I just feel like I can do that here. Whatever I can do to help the team out, that’s what I want to do.”
