Brandon Parker goes by the handle of “Big Stuff Parker” on Twitter and according to Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, he’s living up to the moniker.
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Gruden told SB Nation earlier this week that the former North Carolina A&T star reported to OTAs this week both stronger and heavier.
“Well there’s another guy that came back a lot stronger. I think we commented earlier that he spent most of the offseason living with Gabe [Jackson]. I don’t think they were just lifting weights, they might have been eating pretty good down there. Parker came back married, he came back stronger, he came back heavier. We’re going to give him an opportunity to get on the field. He may end up being the left guard. Who knows. He may end up starting somewhere down the road again. He does have a tough assign. Played left tackle in college. Played all right tackle last year, so he does some experience playing on both sides,” said Gruden on Tuesday afternoon.
Parker is giving up 35 pounds to the 340 pound Jackson so it could be a case of “girth by association.” For those of us who’ve taken the plunge in romance, there’s something to be said about the honeymoon phase of fine dining with your significant other.
At any rate it sounds like more weight that a defensive lineman will have to battle through. Parker had his ups and downs as a rookie last season and he could find his footing with the potential position shift.