Former Dolphins first-round pick DeVante Parker retires

DeVante Parker, the former Miami Dolphins wide receiver and first-round draft pick, has retired.

Parker, who spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Dolphins, was just more than two months removed from signing with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. However, as teams across the league get going with organized team activities ahead of the 2024 season, he decided to call it a career instead.

The 31-year-old cited wanting to spend more time with his children to ESPN as his reasoning for the decision.

Parker, although often battling injuries, never had a season where he played fewer than double-digit games. He was a 6-foot-3 possession receiver who wouldn’t create much separation but could use his frame to make catches over defenders.

Parker totaled 338 receptions for 4,727 yards and 27 touchdowns in his seven seasons with the Dolphins after they drafted the Louisville product with the No. 14 pick in 2015. His best campaign came in 2019, when he posted career highs of 72 catches, 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns.

In the 2022 offseason, Miami traded him and a fifth-round pick within the division to the New England Patriots for a third-round draft selection. It came as the Dolphins brought in star wideout Tyreek Hill via trade with the Kansas City Chiefs to lead the receiving corps.

Following two nondescript seasons with the Patriots, he was released March 11 and then signed by the Eagles the next day.