Joshua David Parry (born April 5, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in 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 played college football for the

San Jose State Spartans The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference (MW) at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football B ...

. He was signed by 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 play ...

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 2001. Parry was also a member of the Oakland Raiders, Frankfurt Galaxy, and Seattle Seahawks.

Early years

Parry attended Sonora High School in

Sonora, California Sonora is the county seat of Tuolumne County, California. Founded during the California Gold Rush by Mexican miners from Sonora (after which the city is named), the city population was 5,226 during the 2020 Census, an increase of 221 from the ...

, where he played

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 ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

in football. He set a school record with 44 rushing touchdowns in his career.

College career

Parry played

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

, and in his senior season, recorded 122 tackles and two

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 ...

s. His brother, Neil, who played alongside him at

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

, suffered a broken leg during his sophomore season, which led to a bacterial infection and the amputation of his foot. Neil later played for the Spartans in 2003 with a prosthetic leg.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Parry entered the 2001 NFL Draft but went undrafted. He was signed by the

for training camp and made it through the preseason until final cuts. He then spent the 2001 season on the Oakland Raiders' practice squad. Parry was re-signed by the Eagles to a future contract two days after their loss in the NFC Championship game. They assigned him to the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe, where he played linebacker and running back. He returned to the Eagles for training camp and the preseason, but following a knee injury during the 2002 preseason finale, Parry was not signed for the 2002 season. Parry was re-signed to a future contract again on January 30, 2003. He was converted to fullback during mini-camp in 2003. He was waived during final cuts again on August 31, 2003, but was re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 1. He was re-signed to a future contract on February 6, 2004, but was waived during final cuts again on September 1. He was re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 6, but was released on September 22. After the Eagles' starting fullback

Jon Ritchie Jon David Ritchie (born September 4, 1974) is an American sports radio host and former professional American football fullback in the National Football League. He started for seven seasons in the NFL, playing for the Oakland Raiders and the Ph ...

suffered a torn ACL in a game against the Detroit Lions, Parry was re-signed to a three-year contract on September 27 and assumed the starting job with

Thomas Tapeh Thomas Teah Tapeh (pronounced ''TUH-PEH'') (born March 28, 1980 in Monrovia, Liberia) is a former American football fullback. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round in the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Minn ...

for the rest of the season. Parry beat out Ritchie for the starting job in training camp in 2005, and starting in all 16 games for the Eagles. In 2006, Parry was in competition with Tapeh for the starting fullback job.

Seattle Seahawks

Parry was traded to the Seattle Seahawks on September 2, 2006, after he lost out to Tapeh, in exchange for the team's seventh round selection in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, which turned out to be offensive tackle King Dunlap. Parry played in eight games for the Seahawks before he was placed on injured reserve on November 29 with a foot injury. He did not receive a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

tender from the Seahawks following the season, and became an

unrestricted 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 ...

. He was re-signed to a two-year contract on March 5, 2007, but was waived during final roster cuts on September 1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parry, Josh 1978 births Living people Players of American football from Tuolumne County, California American football linebackers American football fullbacks San Jose State Spartans football players Philadelphia Eagles players Frankfurt Galaxy players Seattle Seahawks players People from Sonora, California