Steven Parker (defensive back)


Steven Parker is an American football Safety for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He played college football at Oklahoma.

Early life and high school

Parker grew up in Jenks, Oklahoma and attended Jenks High School. In football, Parker played both safety and wide receiver. As a senior, he had 34 receptions for 622 yards and 9 touchdowns on offense and 44 tackles and 4 interceptions on defense. He committed to play college football at the University of Oklahoma over offers from Oklahoma State, Auburn, and Texas A&M.

College career

Parker was a member of the Oklahoma Sooners for four seasons. As a freshman, he appeared in all 13 of Oklahoma's games and started four at nickleback, tallying 31 tackles, a sack and six passes broken up. He became the Sooners starting safety going into his sophomore year and was named second team All-Big 12 Conference after making 60 total tackles with 1.5 sacks and four passes broken up, including a deflection of a pass on a two-point conversion attempt in the final moments of a 30-29 win over TCU. As a junior, Parker was named honorable mention All-Big 12 after record 63 tackles with two interceptions and four passes broken up. In his final season, Parker finished fourth on the team with 63 tackles and third with six passes broken up and was again named second team All-Big 12. He finished his collegiate career with 217 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 20 pass breakups and two interceptions with four fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Parker signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2018. He was waived by the Rams at the end of training camp, but was subsequently re-signed to the team's practice squad. He was waived again at the end of the Rams preseason on August 31, 2019.

Miami Dolphins

Parker was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins on September 1, 2019. He made his NFL debut on September 8, 2019 against the Baltimore Ravens. Parker made his first career start on September 22, 2019 against the Dallas Cowboys, making three tackles and defending a pass in a 6-31 loss. Parker recorded his first career interception on November 10, 2019 against the Indianapolis Colts, picking off a pass from Brian Hoyer in the end zone in the Dolphins' 16–12 win.
In week 14 against the New York Jets, Parker intercepted his second pass of the season off a pass thrown by Sam Darnold during the 22–21 loss. He finished his rookie season with 20 tackles, three passes defended and two interceptions in 14 games.