Report: Patriots signing big-bodied receiver to new contract

Parker’s previous deal was set to expire after the 2023 season and he was only set to carry a $6.2M cap number in his second Patriots campaign. The Dolphins traded Parker to the Patriots last year. In 13 Pats games during the 2022-23 campaign, the former first-round pick caught 31 passes for 539 yards and three touchdowns.

New England has been busy at wide receiver this offseason, signing JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year contract and hosting DeAndre Hopkins on a visit. The Pats made a push to reach a deal with Hopkins while he was in Foxborough, but the former All-Pro ultimately came out of that meeting still a free agent. New England did join Tennessee in extending an offer to Hopkins, but Wednesday’s development shows the organization had plans for Parker, as well.

Neither Hopkins nor Parker are known for their speed. Parker, 30, has finished last in Next Gen Stats’ average separation metric in each of the past three seasons. During his belated 2019 Dolphins breakout, the metric slotted the 6-foot-3 receiver in the bottom five of the league. Parker still averaged 17.4 yards per reception during his first Patriots season. While the Maryland product has just one 1,000-yard season on his NFL resume — a 1,202-yard showing 2019 — he has been a starter for most of his career.

Parker profiles as an auxiliary pass catcher on a team that now rosters Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki. Considering Smith-Schuster’s contract contains $16M fully guaranteed and checked in at $8.5M per year, it will be interesting to see if the Pats’ Parker deal outpaces both of those numbers in terms of base value.

The big-bodied weapon now joins Smith-Schuster in being signed beyond 2023. The Pats have Kendrick Bourne going into a contract year and selected Tyquan Thornton in the second round of last year’s draft. Parker initially went to the Pats on a pick-swap trade, one that sent the receiver and a fifth-rounder to New England and a third-rounder to Miami. Other teams pursued Parker, who wanted to land in Foxborough. The Patriots may be in better position to generate Parker production in 2023, seeing as Bill O’Brien — and not career-long defensive coach Matt Patricia — will be calling plays this fall.