Back from injury, rookie tight end Colby Parkinson ready to contribute for Seahawks
Colby Parkinson looks at his first few weeks in the NFL as something of a mini redshirt season.
The rookie tight end, who the Seahawks drafted in the fourth round in April out of Stanford, spent much of the summer rehabbing from foot surgery before opening the season on the non-football injury list.
Delayed from playing in his first professional game for nearly two months, Parkinson spent his time training, learning and then locking in at practice when he was eligible to return six weeks into the season.
He was activated late last week, and made a quiet debut Sunday afternoon in Seattle’s win over the 49ers, playing three offensive snaps as quarterback Russell Wilson ran out the clock on the 37-27 victory.
Now, after a long wait, Parkinson is ready to make more substantial contributions for one of the most productive offenses in football.
“I felt healthy pretty soon after the season started,” he said Thursday during a Zoom call with reporters. “But, given the rules, it was six weeks. But, it was kind of a blessing. It was almost like a mini redshirt. I got to train, got to watch the guys and come in with fresh legs halfway through the season.”
Parkinson, the tallest player on the Seahawks’ roster at 6-foot-7, was an intriguing draft target as another potential red zone threat for Wilson, but he was sidelined after breaking the fifth metatarsal bone in his foot running routes back home in Southern California, and had surgery in June.
“There was a pop, and I just knew I broke it, and got surgery two days later and started the rehab process as soon as I could,” he said.
Parkinson was able to finally join the Seahawks at practice in October, and said he is just enjoying being out on the field each day.
“Playing football is a million times better than training for football,” he said. “As much fun as I was having training and getting ready for the season, just playing football has been a blast.
“So, very thankful to be there and just going out there with a sense of gratitude every day. It’s not a given that I get to play football, so definitely thankful to be out there.”
While rehabbing from the foot injury, Parkinson said he learned how to take advantage of the extra time before he was cleared to get himself ready to play.
“It’s such a blessing to finally be healthy,” he said. “It took a while to finally get out here, but I’m just having a blast playing football with the guys, finally being out here, and it’s solidifying because I’m actually doing it now, right?
“I did the work in the Zoom meetings. I did the work while I was rehabbing my foot and whatnot, but now I’m finally playing and it’s clicking. It takes me a rep or two and I’m good to go. Definitely blessed to be back out here, for sure.”
Parkinson is already seeing those extra weeks of preparation paying off.
“I think I was able to step in pretty immediately and understand the playbook because of the work I put in on the front end, and making sure I was really locked in during meetings and practice,” he said.
“I’d always bring a script to practice to make sure I was going through in my head whether I’m the Y or the F, or whatever it may be, so that way when I came out a couple of weeks ago to start, I was ready to step into the huddle and be comfortable. Of course there’s going to be some getting used to, but I feel very confident out there and I know what I’m doing.”
The Seahawks released veteran tight end Luke Willson earlier this week after Parkinson was activated, and veteran Greg Olsen didn’t practice Wednesday and was limited Thursday, meaning opportunity could be coming soon for Parkinson.
He could also benefit from the similarities Seattle’s offense has to the one he played in with the Cardinal, when he hauled in 87 catches for 1,171 yards and 12 touchdowns in three college seasons.
“The offenses are very similar between Stanford and here, and just having that knowledge of being a pass protector, a run blocker, a route runner allows you to step into an NFL offense, especially like the style we run here and be ready to go,” he said.
“It’s not like it was a foreign language when I started the playbook here. It was very similar and just had to translate it over, and I think that definitely helps out guys as they make the next step to the NFL.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
