It was just a formality, but one that Colby Parkinson’s family could not miss.
As the free-agent tight end sat down at the Rams’ facility, putting pen to the new three-year contract he agreed to with his hometown team, Parkinson’s father and mother stood in front of the table. While his mother took pictures, his father held up his phone with Parkinson’s wife, Melanie, on FaceTime to witness the event virtually during the third trimester of her pregnancy.
After three years at Stanford and four with the Seattle Seahawks, Parkinson, the former Oaks Christian standout, is back in Los Angeles.
“My dad’s in the background throwing his hands up right now,” Parkinson said Thursday, beaming. “Just so excited and so thankful to come back home and be able to play in front of so many important people in my life, so many role models and … also to have an influence in the community.”
Parkinson wasted little time to jump at the opportunity to return to his hometown, agreeing to terms with the Rams less than three hours into the NFL’s legal tampering period Monday.
Beyond the sentimental appeal, Parkinson has watched the Rams from afar for his entire career. Having played with NFC West rival Seattle, Parkinson watched a lot of Rams tape over the years while preparing for common opponents.
“Just seeing the way that [head coach Sean McVay] and the staff can work up different designs to attack, not just one part of the field, but they’re working the seams, they’re working those deep ins,” Parkinson said. “They’re working the gap scheme a lot. The way they can do some different things with the single tight end, two tight end sets. It’s been fun to watch.”
Parkinson arrives to fill a need that appeared rapidly at the end of the season. Longtime starting tight end Tyler Higbee tore his ACL and MCL in the Rams’ playoff loss to the Detroit Lions. That injury required surgery, and the Rams expect to put Higbee on the physically unable to…
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