LA Chargers: Why Donald Parham is more important than you think
By Jason Reed
Donald Parham is more important to the LA Chargers than you may think.
The LA Chargers signed two XFL players this offseason — offensive lineman Storm Norton and tight end Donald Parham. Both are still fighting for spots on the roster and very well could be impact players for the team in 2020.
Parham is the signing that is getting more attention and rightfully so. Parham is massive (six-foot-eight), is quick and has pretty sure hands. He is an exciting target to potentially add to this offense.
Parham is more than just a tall tight end that has the potential to be a weapon in the offense. He is someone who is more important in the grand scheme of things than many fans currently think. How do we know that Parham is more important than believed?
Two other existing tight ends were cut from the LA Chargers, Donald Parham was kept
One narrative that we have heard from the LA Chargers, whether it is in ‘Hard Knocks’ or in media interviews is that the Chargers are valuing players that have an existing relationship with the team and a knowledge of how things operate.
Despite this, the Chargers decided to keep Parham while cutting two other tight ends. One was undrafted free agent Jared Rice, which was not much of a surprise whatsoever, but the other was Andrew Vollert.
Vollert showed some impressive signs in camp last season before getting hurt and was pretty upset when he got the news that he was being cut by the Chargers. Why was he cut before a new guy in Donald Parham? Well, because Parham is kind of important to the team.
Let’s break down two reasons why Parham is important — one related to 2020 and one for the following years.