Kansas City Chiefs: Bringing Back Ron Parker Paying Off

The Kansas City Chiefs brought safety Ron Parker back after being cut by the Atlanta Falcons before the regular season. It seems to be paying off.

The Kansas City Chiefs had an overhaul of moves on the defensive side of the ball this offseason following the loss to the Tennessee Titans in the playoffs. GM Brett Veach went to work immediately on the defense getting rid of bigger contracts, and players that were not playing with that aggressiveness that he wanted.

Kansas City asked safety Ron Parker to take a pay cut during the offseason, and when he declined, the Chiefs cut him letting him hit free agency. Parker then signed a veteran minimum deal with the Atlanta Falcons but failed to make the final roster following the preseason.

Given the injury to Daniel Sorensen during training camp, and that star safety Eric Berry is still not practicing with the team, Veach reached out to Parker and signed him following the cut down period. Knowing the defensive scheme after spending multiple seasons in Kansas City, Parker was announced to start for the Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers immediately.

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In retrospect, Kansas City got what they initially wanted this offseason. By cutting Parker and letting him test the weak market for safeties this offseason, the Chiefs were able to resign him likely to a much smaller deal than they wanted to renegotiate to initially in the offseason. It was a move that turned out great for Kansas City given the injuries to the safety position and the lack of development from the younger players during the preseason.

It was clear that the Chiefs couldn’t go out there Week 1 against the Chargers with Eric Murray and Leon McQuay as the starting duo. McQuay didn’t even make the 53-man roster after looking so bad in the preseason. Rookie safety Armani Watts seems not to be ready to start considering the signing of Ron Parker.

Even if Watts would have been ready to go Week 1 as a starter, I think the Chiefs bring back Parker. I think if anything it would have bumped Murray to the backup role. Regardless, in the first game of the season, the Chiefs got their money worth from Parker with his performance against the Chargers.

In the first drive of the game by the Chargers offense, Parker came up big on a 3rd and short play where he stuffed the run game forcing Los Angeles to punt after a three and out series. While Parker almost got burned for a considerable gain during the first half when he failed to pick up Travis Benjamin coming across the middle, Benjamin was unable to make the catch. If he had made the reception, we might be looking at Parker’s performance a bit differently.

He redeemed himself in the second half making multiple impactful plays. During the second half, Parker jumped a route to pick off Philip Rivers. He was the only defender to come away with an interception on the day.

He also had another opportunity for an interception late in the game when he was trying to turn and make the catch on a deep shot down the right sideline. If he hadn’t lost control when he hit the ground, we would be looking at a two-interception day from Parker. The veteran safety put together a solid performance coming out of that game with one interception, two passes defended, and eight tackles.

On a day that the secondary showed it’s weaknesses, Ron Parker seemed to be the highlight of the group. While most of the yardage given up was in the fourth quarter when the Chiefs defense was in prevent mode, there were still multiple plays that gave Kansas City fans frustration. Parker started off the season strong, and the hope is that whether Berry is or isn’t on the field, that he will keep playing at this caliber level. The secondary needs it.