Dolphins WR DeVante Parker turns best stretch of his career into four-year, $40 million extension
After years of infuriatingly inconsistent play, DeVante Parker is looking like the wide receiver the Miami Dolphins envisioned when they took him 14th overall in the 2015 NFL draft. Turns out that boost came just at the right time.
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Parker and the Dolphins are finalizing a four-year, $40 million extension, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Per Ian Rapoport, the deal includes $21.5 million in guaranteed money and an $8 million signing bonus.
Yes Sir‼️@DeVanteParker11 is staying in South Florida! #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/gzjxx7rE72
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 13, 2019
That’s quite the payday for a player who had a $9.4 million fifth-year option turned into a two-year deal worth only as much as $13 million. Players as young as the 26-year-old Parker don’t often make deals like that, but Parker’s career trajectory makes for a special case.
Entering this season, Parker’s best year was his second, in which he posted only 744 yards and four touchdowns on 56 catches. An intriguing talent coming out of Louisville in 2015, Parker’s numbers stagnated in the next two seasons, in which he totaled just 979 yards and two touchdowns while dealing with a number of injuries.
Even on the Dolphins, a team everyone believed was trying to tank the 2019 season from the start, Parker’s status was in doubt for the future. He responded with easily the best season of his career, registering a career-high 882 yards and six touchdowns. Once a player who could go from triple-digit receiving yards to single digits in the span of two games, Parker has topped 50 receiving yards in all but three of his games this year.
That improved play has helped the Dolphins win three of their last six games, which is incredible given the team’s expectations in October. And it’s cemented Parker’s place on the Dolphins for whatever happens in the years to come.
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