Q&A: Beaufort's Ron Parker talks about his week as NFL free agent
Ron Parker ended a wild week as an NFL free agent by agreeing to terms with the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
The former Beaufort High School standout plans to sign a contract Monday for five years and $25 million base salary, with a $5 million signing bonus. Parker has been in Atlanta training, and said he should make it back to Beaufort in the next couple of weeks.
He spoke with The Beaufort Gazette about his decision, his visit to Chicago and which teams were in the running late.
Question: What was the process like for you this week after free agency started? Could you take me through everything?
Answer: After free agency opened up on Tuesday at 4 o’clock, I was kind of sitting by my phone, waiting on my agent to call me, so he could let me know which teams wanted me and what they had to offer. From Tuesday to today, I was getting calls off and on all throughout the day just talking to me trying to negotiate with other teams and just trying to see what my future was going to end up. It came down to a few teams at the end of the day — Atlanta, Baltimore and the (Chicago) Bears. KC was in there, too. Out of those four teams, I was just thinking what would be the best decision for me to come back and play. KC came through with the deal. They got everything done today. Early this morning, I got a call from my agent telling me that the general manager from KC (John Dorsey), they said they were going to get the deal done today. That was the move I got today.
Q: When will you sign?
A: I fly out tomorrow (Sunday) to go to KC. I sign the contract early Monday morning.
Q: Were all those offers about the same deal, or how did they look?
A: All of them were around the same area, price range-wise. Late last night, early this morning, Kansas City just decided to stop the process. We were going through the process for so long with Kansas City, every day. I guess they just decided to make the decision they were going to give me a couple extra dollars just to lock me in at home. And they did that.
Q: How did the visit go with Chicago?
A: Everything was good. I ate breakfast and lunch with the general manager (Ryan Pace) and John Fox, the head coach. I had a good time out there. The whole coaching staff, the whole organization, they made me feel welcome. It was another home for me. It was a hard decision. Do I want to play in Chicago? Do I want to play in KC? They made me feel just as good as Kansas City. At the end of the day, I just wanted to stay in Kansas City, because I feel like that’s home for me now. I know the system and know what’s going on, so all I’ve got to do is just improve and work on the stuff I need to work on and not try to learn a new defense and go somewhere and start over again, I can just keep going from here.
Q: I know you’ve been a versatile guy and played corner and safety, but safety seems like where you’ve been the best fit. Is that the plan moving forward?
A: My future plan is looking forward to being a free safety. That’s the plan KC has got in mind. We’re going to go with that.
Q: How was it having your brother with you for everything?
A: It’s a great feeling to have him by my side when I get that phone call. He was there from the very beginning when it all started, when I was getting cut, me going through all the ups and downs. It was a great feeling for him to be here and celebrate and have a good time. We just went out to eat earlier today, had a couple drinks. And that’s it.
Q: When did you start thinking this kind of deal was possible?
A: Toward the end of the season, I started to feel a different vibe, just feeling the day was coming. Every day at the end of the season, I felt like I was getting closer to this day. It’s just a different feeling coming from the bottom, and now you’re just at the top.
Q: How much did you pay attention to your phone and Facebook and Twitter this week?
A: It was kind of hard to pay attention to social networks. Going through what I went through, man, it’s frustrating. You want to get a deal done, but at the same time, you want to make sure you pick the right place and the right city for your family. And you want to make sure your future is good.
Please sign with the Bears bro @ghost_0836
— Rocko (@RKOsForEveryone) March 13, 2015
Q: Anything else?
A: I just want to say thanks to the Chiefs organization, the Hunt family, general manager John Dorsey, the head coach Andy Reid — I just want to thank all of them for giving me the opportunity to come back and be a Chief.
Follow assistant sports editor Stephen Fastenau at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 11:58 PM with the headline "Q&A: Beaufort's Ron Parker talks about his week as NFL free agent."