The Kansas City Chiefs moved on from safety Ron Parker after he turned in his worst season in the NFL.
Parker, who signed with the Falcons on Monday, was just in the second year of a five-year $30 million deal he signed with the Chiefs in March of 2015.
“Parker earned a career-low 40.1 overall grade across 1,099 defensive snaps with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017, ranking 84th among the 87 safeties with at least 300 defensive snaps played,” according to profootballfocus.com. “He also ranked T-No. 76 in coverage grade (45.9) and 79th in run-defense grade (36.6) among the same group of safeties.”
Parker, who helped to try to replace Eric Berry last season, was not much help for the run defense, either.
“In run defense, Parker recorded just six stops across 387 run-defense snaps,” according to profootballfocus.com. “He ranked 49th in run-stop percentage (1.6) among safeties with at least 225 run-defense snaps in 2017. Parker missed 14 total tackles in 2017, ranking 71st among the 72 qualifying safeties in PFF's tackling efficiency (5.4).
“In coverage, Parker allowed receptions on 21-of-31 targets for 253 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He ranked 17th among the 58 safeties with at least 330 coverage snaps in yards allowed per coverage snap.
“Including the postseason, Parker played 728-of-1,099 defensive snaps (66.2%) at either strong or free safety.”
Looks like the Falcons have added some insurance in case something happens to free safety Rico Allen or strong safety Keanu Neal.
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