Patriots Part Ways With DeVante Parker

The New England Patriots opted to release their second player of the day on Monday. Following news breaking of special teamer Chris Board being waived, he was joined by wide receiver DeVante Parker. The release will not become official until Wednesday, but New England has notified Parker of the move and allowed him to begin talking to other teams.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the move.

Patriots informed WR DeVante Parker that they are releasing him Wednesday and he now has been given permission to talk to other teams, per his agent Jimmy Gould.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024

DeVante Parker

Parker played the past two seasons in New England. He finished 2023 with 33 receptions and 394 receiving yards. He did not score any touchdowns. Parker played 26 games over two seasons with the Patriots. He caught a total of 64 passes for 933 yards and three touchdowns. It was not the production New England was hoping for when they acquired him two years ago.

DeVante Parker had a career year with the Miami Dolphins in 2019. He had 72 receptions, 1,202 yards, and nine touchdowns that season. It has been five years since that campaign, however, and Parker has been trending in the wrong direction ever since.

Miami traded Parker to New England on Apr. 2, 2022 along with a fifth round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft (No. 158) for a third round pick in that same draft (No. 77).

Contract Status

DeVante Parker signed a lucrative contract to come to New England, one which still has two years remaining. However, 2025 has no guaranteed money. So for the sake of this discussion, Parker is on virtually a one-year deal if the Patriots are looking to part ways.

New England Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan explained various scenarios for cutting ties with Parker. Cutting DeVante Parker before June 1 creates a significant dead cap hit for the Patriots (more than $6.2 million) without gaining any actual cap space from the transaction. However, Benzan explained that there are two advantages as well. The move resulted in no dead money counted against the Patriots cap in 2025. There is also an offset credit for 2025, which can go up to $3.19 million. The earlier Parker is allowed the hit the market, the better chance of him landing a deal elsewhere.

There are two advantages to releasing DeVante Parker now as opposed to June 2nd.

1. No dead money in 2025.
2. There is a better chance of him receiving a deal in March than in June. The more money he receives in 2024 the bigger credit in 2025. Max credit = $3.19M https://t.co/1s9fyO61IU

— Patscap's Patriots Cap Space Number is 81,342,937 (@patscap) March 11, 2024

Wide Receiver Room

New England has seven wide receivers under team control for 2024 after the move. Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Kayshon Boutte, T.J. Luther, and Kawaan Baker are all under contract with the team. However, there is likely to be more moves made with this unit before the start of the season.

The 2024 NFL Draft has a deep talent pool at wide receiver. The New England Patriots could also try to upgrade the position via free agency (Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown) or trade (Tee Higgins, Courtland Sutton) as well. It is highly unlikely that the release of DeVante Parker is the final move for the Patriots at wide receiver this offseason.