Roscoe Parrish (born July 16, 1982) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

wide receiver and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in the second round (55th overall) of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

. He played college football at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

Collegiate career and early life

Parrish played quarterback at Miami Senior High. He then attended the

and converted to the wide receiver position and finished his college career with 81 receptions. He is the cousin of NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Branden Oliver.

Track and field

Parrish was also a track star at the

, where he ran the

60 meters 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

and 200 meters, posting personal bests of 6.89 seconds, 10.65 seconds and 21.13 seconds, respectively. He also competed in the

55 meters 55 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field. The history of the event lies in the 60-yard dash, which is about 5 inches shorter than 55 metres. Since the 1960s almos ...

, posting a personal best time of 6.38 seconds.

Personal bests

Professional career

2005 NFL Combine

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills drafted Parrish in the second round (55th overall) during the

2005 season

Parrish's NFL career with the Buffalo Bills got off to a slow start, with Parrish missing the first six games due to injury. Parrish played in a limited role for the next 10 games, finishing the 2005 season with 15 receptions for 148 yards (9.9 avg.) and one touchdown. He also returned several punts and kickoffs for the team.

2006 season

Parrish served as the Bills fourth wide receiver. Parrish finished the year with 23 receptions for 320 yards (13.9 avg.) and 2 touchdowns. As a punt returner, Parrish gained 364 yards on 32 attempts (11.4 avg.) and one score. Parrish's finest moment came when he ran back an 82-yard punt 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 ...

in a win against 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 ...

. In the same game, he caught a 30-yard pass from quarterback J. P. Losman to set up the Bills' game-winning field goal.

2007 season

Parrish returned his first punt return of the season for a touchdown against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. He became the first player in the 2007 season to score a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and a punt return touchdown. For the second season in a row, Parrish finished the season with over 300 receiving yards and 360 total return yards, achieving 352 receiving yards on 35 receptions, 440 punt return yards, and 126 kickoff return yards.

2008 season

In the Bills seasons opener against the Seattle Seahawks, Parrish returned a punt return 63 yards for a touchdown. His return stats ultimately declined this year as he shared return responsibilities with rookie cornerback Leodis McKelvin. He caught 24 passes for 232 yards, receiving his lone touchdown against the Oakland Raiders to help the Bills win 24–23.

2009 season

Parrish's role as a receiver decreased in 2009 as the Bills signed superstar receiver

Terrell Owens Terrell Eldorado Owens (; born December 7, 1973), nicknamed T.O., is an American football wide receiver for the Knights of Degen of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. Regar ...

in the off-season, as he only caught 3 passes for 44 yards. Parrish had a notable blunder during a game against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

, muffing a punt in the fourth quarter that set up the Browns' game-winning field goal in a low-scoring 6–3 affair.

2010-11 seasons

After the departures of both Owens and

Josh Reed Joshua Blake Reed (born May 1, 1980) is a former professional American football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons during the 2000s. He played college football for Louisiana State Universi ...

in free agency, Parrish resumed his role as a prominent receiver for the Bills. In just 8 games, he caught a career-high 400 receiving yards on 33 catches with two touchdowns before suffering a season-ending hand injury against the Chicago Bears that would require surgery. In week 2 of the following season, Parrish was injured again after catching his first and only reception of the year for 16 yards. The Bills placed him on injured reserve for the second year in a row.

San Diego Chargers

On April 3, 2012, Parrish signed with the San Diego Chargers, but was released on August 27, 2012.

Oakland Raiders

Later that same day, Parrish was signed by the Oakland Raiders, who needed a returner to fill in for a hurt

Jacoby Ford Jacoby Ford (born July 27, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was also an accomplished track and field athlete. He playe ...

. However, in the following preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, Parrish fumbled both punt return attempts, did not see the field again, and was cut the following day.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On September 25, 2012, Parrish was signed by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

to replace

Jordan Shipley Jordan Shipley (born December 23, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver. Shipley played college football for the University of Texas, and received consensus All-American recognition. He was picked by the Cincinnati Bengals in the t ...

as the team's kick returner. He retired after this season, finishing his career with over 1,500 receiving yards and nearly 2,700 return yards.

Legal issues

On August 12, 2019, Parrish was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with criminal charges of stalking and written threats to kill. He had allegedly begun harassing a former girlfriend and her daughter after the relationship ended in July 2018.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Roscoe 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Miami Miami Senior High School alumni American football wide receivers American football return specialists Miami Hurricanes football players Buffalo Bills players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players