REPORT: DeVante Parker, Patriots agree on three-year contract worth up to $33 million
The New England Patriots and receiver DeVante Parker have reached an agreement on a new three-year deal worth up to $33 million, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Wednesday.
The deal includes $14 million in guarantees and per-game roster bonuses.
Parker, 30, was heading into the final year of his current deal, which would have seen him earn a $5.7 million base salary. Parker is coming off his first season in New England after being acquired from the Miami Dolphins. He suited up in 13 games, hauling in 31 receptions for 539 yards and three touchdowns.
A first-round pick (14th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Louisville, Parker has struggled to live up to his draft billing. In an eight-year career mired by injuries and inconsistencies, Parker has one 1,000 yard season under his belt (2019). That season, he hauled in a career-high 72 receptions for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns.
Parker will have a great chance to replicate his past success in 2023 with new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien at the helm and given the state of the Patriots’ receiving corps. Back in March, the Patriots signed former Kansas City Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $33 million deal. Parker and Smith-Schuster serve as the most experienced options on the depth chart. Unproven 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton and 2023 sixth-round pick Kayshon Boutte are in the mix as well.
Patriots in the running for DeAndre Hopkins after signing DeVante Parker?
The Patriots are contenders in the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes, having hosted the free agent wideout earlier this month. Hopkins is in no rush to make a deal, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
“It’s been a flat market. It doesn’t sound like he’s in any rush to [sign] a deal,” Schefter recently said on “NFL Live.” “You don’t have to sign in the middle of June when you can wait until right before training camp. For all we know, some team suffers an injury, some team loses a receiver, the dynamics change and shift, and there could be more leverage at some point in time for DeAndre Hopkins.
“So he can listen to Tennessee [Titans], he can listen to New England, he can see what they’re offering, but there’s no rush. He can wait until a firmer offer from another team materializes. Doesn’t sound like he’s in a rush to do anything right now.”