Will Parks (born July 29, 1994) is an

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 with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

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 ...

(NFL). He was drafted by 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 headquart ...

in the sixth round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. He has also played for the

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 plays ...

Professional career

The

selected Parks in the sixth round (219th overall) of the

. He was the 17th safety selected in 2016 and the second safety drafted by the Broncos, after third-round draft pick Justin Simmons.

Denver Broncos

2016

On May 13, 2016, the Denver Broncos signed Parks to a four-year, $2.44 million contract that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $100,356. Throughout training camp, Parks competed with veteran

Shiloh Keo Shiloh Keo (born December 17, 1987) is a former American football safety. Selected in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans, he played college football for the University of Idaho. Early life and high school Born in Bothell ...

for the backup strong safety role. Head coach

Gary Kubiak Gary Wayne Kubiak (born August 15, 1961) is a former American football coach and quarterback. He served as head coach for the NFL's Houston Texans from 2006 to 2013 and the Denver Broncos from 2015 to 2016 before stepping down from the position ...

named Parks the backup strong safety behind

T. J. Ward Terrell Ray "T. J." Ward Jr. (born December 12, 1986) is a former American football safety who played for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the s ...

to start the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the Denver Broncos' season-opening 21-20 victory over the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. In Week 3, he made two solo tackles, two pass deflections, and had his first career interception off a pass by

Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...

during a 29-17 victory at the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. On November 13, 2016, Parks recovered a blocked field goal during the New Orleans Saints' extra point and returned it for the game-winning two point score after teammate Justin Simmons leaped over the offensive line and blocked

Wil Lutz William “Wil” Lutz (born July 7, 1994) is an American football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia State. Early life Lutz was born in Newnan, Georgia. Both his ...

's attempt to defeat the Saints 25–23 in the final 1:30 seconds. The play was challenged by the Saints after it appeared Parks may have stepped out of bounds during the return, but the ruling was upheld after it was determined there was not enough conclusive evidence showing Parks had stepped out of bounds. Parks finished his rookie season with 22 combined tackles (17 solo), four pass deflections, a fumble recovery, one interception, and a touchdown in 16 games and zero starts while appearing on special teams and as a reserve safety on defense. The Denver Broncos finished third in the season

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...

with a 9-7 record and head coach Gary Kubiak retired due to health concerns.

2017

The Denver Broncos hired

Vance Joseph Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Previously he was the head coach of the Denver Bronco ...

as their new head coach and Joe Woods as their new defensive coordinator, replacing

Wade Phillips Harold Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys. He has also ser ...

. Parks was named the backup free safety behind

Darian Stewart Darian Stewart (born August 4, 1988) is a former American football Safety (gridiron football position), strong safety. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent after the 2010 NFL Draft and has also played for the Baltimore ...

to begin the regular season. On October 30, 2017, Parks earned his first career start and recorded two solo tackles during a 29-19 loss at the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. In Week 15, he started at strong safety after Simmons had been placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain. Parks went on to make a season-high seven combined tackles in their 25-13 win at the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. The following week, he collected two combined tackles, defended a pass, and intercepted a pass attempt by

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washingto ...

in the Bronco's 27-11 loss at the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. Parks finished the 2017 season with 51 combined tackles (36 solo), four pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and four starts. He started three games at strong safety and appeared on special teams and as an extra defensive back during dime packages. In their first season under head coach Vance Joseph, the Denver Broncos finished last in their division with a 5-11 record.

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 24, 2020, Parks signed a one-year contract with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on September 6, 2020. He was activated on October 17. He was waived on December 1, 2020.

Denver Broncos (second stint)

On December 2, 2020, Parks was claimed off waivers by the

Kansas City Chiefs

Parks signed with the

on May 6, 2021. He was released on August 23, 2021.

San Francisco 49ers

On November 3, 2021, Parks was signed to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

practice squad.

Miami Dolphins

On November 23, 2021, Parks was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

off the 49ers practice squad. He was released on December 20, 2021.

New York Jets

On December 21, 2021, Parks claimed off waivers by the

. He re-signed with the team on March 10, 2022. He was released on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on September 14, 2022. He was released on December 15, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on January 7, 2023.

Legal trouble

On June 2, 2017, Parks was arrested for misdemeanor harassment and non-physical domestic violence charges involving a former girlfriend. On March 1, 2018, the charges against him were dismissed.

References

External links

*
Official Website of Will ParksArizona Wildcats bioDenver Broncos bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Will 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Philadelphia American football safeties Arizona Wildcats football players Denver Broncos players Philadelphia Eagles players Kansas City Chiefs players San Francisco 49ers players Miami Dolphins players New York Jets players