Byron Wesley Parker (born March 7, 1981) is a former gridiron football

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2004. He played college football and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

. Parker was also a member of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

, Edmonton Eskimos,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

College career

Parker initially enrolled in

on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

and played on their team from 2001 to 2003. It was also in 2003 that Parker won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...

competition. Winning the slam dunk competition drew the attention of Tulane's football head coach Chris Scelfo, as well as football scouts in the NFL. Later that same year, his senior year, Parker accepted Scelfo's invitation to play on the school's football team. His slam dunking abilities were showcased in a 2005 CFL game at

Molson Stadium Percival Molson Memorial Stadium (also known in French as ''Stade Percival-Molson''; commonly referred to as Molson Stadium in English or Stade Molson in French) is an outdoor football stadium in Downtown Montreal, on the slopes of Mount Royal ...

against the

. Lined up as a wide receiver, Parker caught a 42-yard touchdown reception and celebrated by dunking the ball over the cross bar uprights. He also has a 43"

vertical leap A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

On April 26, 2004, Parker was signed as an

by the

. He was waived by the team following training camp on August 1.

Toronto Argonauts

After being cut by the Jaguars during training camp, Parker signed with the Argonauts on January 24, 2005, but played in only six games.

Dallas Cowboys

In 2006, Parker signed a one-year contract with the

of the NFL but was cut by the team on July 31.

Toronto Argonauts (II)

Parker re-joined the Argonauts a week after being released by Dallas. Upon his return, he became their starting cornerback. On October 14, 2006, Parker broke a CFL record for most

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

return yardage in a single season with a 75-yard interception return for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. He ended the season with a CFL record 348 interception return yards, surpassing Eric Carter's 2003 record of 300 yards. Parker was selected as a CFL All-Star in 2006 and 2007.

Philadelphia Eagles

On January 27, 2009, Parker was reported to have signed a reserve/future contract with the

. The signing was officially confirmed by the Eagles on February 3, 2009. He was waived on August 14, thereby creating a roster spot for the signing of quarterback

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...

Toronto Argonauts (III)

After his release from the Eagles, Parker returned to Toronto as the Argonauts deferred his contract when he signed with Philadelphia. The Eagles had him on a weight gain program and he bulked from his 2008 CFL weight of 193 to 227 and he found he had to re-adjust to the Canadian game; reducing his weight to 210 by the time he reported to practice on August 20, 2009, but still finding himself tired out by the longer, wider field. Parker reported that the Eagles offered him another opportunity to return on August 20 but he refused, feeling more comfortable with the Argonauts.

Edmonton Eskimos

Parker was traded to the Edmonton Eskimos on September 28, 2009, for future considerations.

Toronto Argonauts (IV)

On February 16, 2010, Parker re-signed with the Argonauts as a free agent. On October 28, 2011, Parker scored his 9th career interception return for a touchdown against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

Canad Inns Stadium Canad Inns Stadium (also known as Winnipeg Stadium) was a multipurpose stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The stadium was located at the corner of St. James Street and Maroons Road, immediately north of the Polo Park Shopping Centre and th ...

, setting a new CFL record.

BC Lions

Parker entered free agency on February 15, 2012, and was signed by the

on February 16, 2012. Parker played one season with the BC Lions. On January 18, 2013, Parker was released by the BC Lions.

Montreal Alouettes

Two days following his release by the Lions, Parker signed with the

for a contract worth one year plus an option. On January 30, 2014, Parker was released from the Alouettes. On July 11, 2014, Parker signed a 1-day contract to retire with

References

External links

*
Montreal Alouettes bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Byron 1981 births African-American players of Canadian football American football cornerbacks American football safeties American players of Canadian football BC Lions players Canadian football defensive backs Dallas Cowboys players Edmonton Elks players Jacksonville Jaguars players Living people Montreal Alouettes players People from Madisonville, Kentucky Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Kentucky Sportspeople from DeKalb County, Georgia Toronto Argonauts players Tulane Green Wave men's basketball players Tulane Green Wave football players American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people