Samie Parker's road back to the NFL starts where it began.

Samie Parker's road back to the NFL starts where it began 

Samie Parker's road back to the NFL starts where it began.

Page 3 of 5

Parker breaks inside again off the line. This time, he can't separate. The ball thrown by backup quarterback Steven Gachette spins away on the turf, well out of Parker's reach.

It's the fourth day of camp, the first with pads, and guys are scrapping to make the team. An offensive lineman whips a defender to the ground, taking personally an errant hand to the face mask.

"This is what happens when you put the pads on," a defensive lineman says. "The bullets start flying."

"Let them fly," Belcher says, grinning.

The wrestling match is broken up before it becomes a fight, and the drill resumes.

Parker trots back to the end line and slaps hands with his fellow wide receivers.

"I'm glad they signed Samie," Belcher says. "He played here for us before with the Chiefs, and he's fast and quick. If he can find the room to maneuver, he'll be real good."


Speed has never been the issue with Parker. It's likely the reason that he's still playing football at age 30 (he turns 31 on March 25). That, and he's finally in the same city as his 4-year-old daughter, who he hopes will be a regular at Command games.

Parker was a sprinter on the track team at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. The aptly named Jackrabbits captured a Division 1 California title in 1998. Polytech is a pro sports factory that has sent more than 50 players to the NFL in the past 85 years.

As a freshman, Parker ran routes against former NFL safety Omar Stoutmire. After graduating, Parker worked on technique with future NFL wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Terrence Austin.

"I love seeing them in the NFL now, and I hope they might say, at the end of the day, that Samie was a guy who helped me when I was younger," Parker says. "I don't go around looking for them to acknowledge me. I just want to pass on my knowledge."

Two years after graduating high school (he redshirted a year), Parker hauled in nine catches for 162 yards and a touchdown in the University of Oregon's 38-16 undressing of Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl.

At Oregon, he was also a three-time All-American in track, clocking in with a top time of 10.18 in the 100-meter dash.

Football had brought him close to his stepfather, Tracy Session. But in September 2003, Session was gunned down in his native Long Beach. He was 37.

Parker, the oldest of five, had always found purpose in football. Now he was determined to make the NFL and set an example for his younger siblings.

In his final game in a Ducks uniform, Parker was named most valuable player of the Sun Bowl for a 16-catch, 200-yard performance. Oregon lost 31-30 to the University of Minnesota.

Parker graduated with school records for catches and receiving yards. His 4.36-second 40-yard sprint made him the fastest wide receiver in the 2004 NFL draft.

"The fastest player in college football needs more bulk," wrote Charles Robinson in the Orlando Sentinel, ranking Parker as the 15th best wide-receiver prospect.

The Chiefs had a history with Oregon speedsters. Hurdler J.J. Birden played five years for Kansas City between 1990 and 1994. A decade later, the Chiefs were coming off a 13-3 season and needed a defensive lineman and help at wide receiver.

The Chiefs drafted Parker's teammate, defensive tackle Junior Siavii, with the 36th pick overall. The franchise selected Parker with the 105th pick. (Twenty-one picks later, the team chose a brash defensive lineman out of Idaho State, Jared Allen.)

  • Samie Parker's road back to the NFL starts where it began.

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