Steven Parker (defensive back)

Steven Parker (born December 14, 1995) is an American football safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma, and was formerly a member of the Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings.

Steven Parker
No. 40 – Dallas Cowboys
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1995-12-14) December 14, 1995
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Jenks
(Jenks, Oklahoma)
College:Oklahoma
Undrafted:2018
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • 2x Second team All-Big 12 (2015, 2017)
  • USA Today High School All-American (2013)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2020
Total tackles:27
Sacks:0
Pass deflections:3
Interceptions:2
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early life and high school

Parker grew up in Jenks, Oklahoma and attended Jenks High School. In football, Parker played both safety and wide receiver. As a senior, he had 34 receptions for 622 yards and 9 touchdowns on offense and 44 tackles and 4 interceptions on defense. He was named Oklahoma State Player of the Year by Tulsa World.[1] Parker also played basketball and ran track. He committed to play college football at the University of Oklahoma over offers from Oklahoma State, Auburn, and Texas A&M.[2]

College career

Parker was a member of the Oklahoma Sooners for four seasons. As a freshman, he appeared in all 13 of Oklahoma's games and started four at nickleback, tallying 31 tackles, a sack and six passes broken up.[3] He became the Sooners starting safety going into his sophomore year and was named second team All-Big 12 Conference after making 60 total tackles with 1.5 sacks and four passes broken up, including a deflection of a pass on a two-point conversion attempt in the final moments of a 30-29 win over TCU.[4] As a junior, Parker was named honorable mention All-Big 12 after record 63 tackles with two interceptions and four passes broken up.[5] In his final season, Parker finished fourth on the team with 63 tackles and third with six passes broken up and was again named second team All-Big 12.[6] He finished his collegiate career with 217 tackles (11 for loss), 3.5 sacks, 20 pass breakups and two interceptions with four fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.[7]

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Parker signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2018.[8] He was waived by the Rams at the end of training camp, but was subsequently re-signed to the team's practice squad. He was waived again at the end of the Rams preseason on August 31, 2019.[9]

Miami Dolphins

Parker was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins on September 1, 2019.[10] He made his NFL debut on September 8, 2019 against the Baltimore Ravens.[11] Parker made his first career start on September 22, 2019 against the Dallas Cowboys, making three tackles and defending a pass in a 6-31 loss.[12] Parker recorded his first career interception on November 10, 2019 against the Indianapolis Colts, picking off a pass from Brian Hoyer in the end zone in the Dolphins' 16–12 win.[13] In week 14 against the New York Jets, Parker intercepted his second pass of the season off a pass thrown by Sam Darnold during the 22–21 loss.[14] He finished his rookie season with 20 tackles, three passes defended and two interceptions in 14 games (four starts).[15]

On August 13, 2020, Parker was waived by the Dolphins.[16]

Minnesota Vikings

Parker was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Vikings on August 14, 2020.[17] He was waived by the Vikings during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020.[18]

Dallas Cowboys

On September 15, 2020, Parker was signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad.[19] He was elevated to the active roster on October 10 and October 19 for the team's weeks 5 and 6 games against the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals, and reverted to the practice squad following each game.[20][21] He was promoted to the active roster on October 22.[22] He was placed on injured reserve on December 7, 2020.[23] On January 2, 2021, Parker was activated off of injured reserve.

References
  1. Lewis, Barry (December 29, 2013). "Steven Parker, Jenks: Tulsa World All-State Player of the Year". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  2. Buckingham, Dylan (February 24, 2014). "Jenks Safety Commits to OU". KFOR.com. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  3. Hite, Justin (August 19, 2015). "Hite's OU 11: No. 4 Steven Parker". OU Insider. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  4. Campbell, Bruce (August 9, 2016). "OU safety Steven Parker looks to step up". Enid News & Eagle. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  5. Baily, Eric (January 27, 2017). "Oklahoma football: A look at defensive backs". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  6. "2018 Los Angeles Rams Roster Preview: Is S Steven Parker the surprise UDFA for 2018?". TurfShowTimes.com. SB Nation. June 22, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  7. Helmer, Joey (August 18, 2019). "Steven Parker makes another big play in preseason week two". OU Insider. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  8. Reneau, Keagan (April 28, 2018). "NFL Draft 2018: Oklahoma's Steven Parker signs free agent deal with Los Angeles Rams". The Oklahoma Daily. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  9. "Los Angeles Rams Make Cuts, Complete Roster". NBCLosAngeles.com. City News Service. August 31, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  10. Crabbs, Kyle (September 2, 2019). "Miami Dolphins awarded five players on waiver claims". Dolphins Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  11. "Dolphins Face Patriots In Week 2 As They Try To Regroup From Embarrassing Rout". Miami.CBSLocal.com. Associated Press. September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  12. Poupart, Alain (September 23, 2019). "Safety Steven Parker Makes First Career Start In Dallas". MiamiDolphins.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  13. Ayello, Jim (November 10, 2019). "Colts suffer shocking loss to Dolphins as Vinatieri, Ebron, Hoyer struggle". USAToday.com. Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  14. "Ficken's FG as time expires leads Jets past Dolphins 22-21". www.espn.com. December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  15. Perkins, Chris (January 2, 2020). "Dolphins final report card: Hopes for No. 1 pick are gone, but hope for the future is high". The Athletic. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  16. "Dolphins Sign Cornerback Deatrick Nichols". MiamiDolphins.com. August 13, 2020.
  17. Alper, Josh (2020-08-14). "Vikings claim Steven Parker". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  18. Peters, Craig; Smith, Eric (September 5, 2020). "Vikings Announce Roster Moves, Set Initial 53-Man Roster". Minnesota Vikings. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  19. Phillips, Rob (September 15, 2020). "Brandon Carr, LB, OT Signed To Roster; 3 To IR". DallasCowboys.com.
  20. "Cowboys make handful of roster moves, activate Brown from IR". October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  21. "Vander Esch To Active Roster, DT Added & Dak To IR". October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  22. "Cowboys' Steven Parker: Plucked from practice squad". CBSSports.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  23. "Cowboys' Steven Parker: Lands on injured reserve". CBSSports.com. December 7, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
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