The Seattle Seahawks are off this weekend as the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but one former Seahawks tight end made the play of the day in the Wild Card round on Saturday.
Colby Parkinson, now a tight end for the Los Angeles Rams, made a spinning, game-winning sideline touchdown catch in a 34-31 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. Parkinson caught the pass near the sideline as he spun around and darted two more yards for the 19-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Here’s the video below, which can be watched on YouTube.
A member of the Seahawks from 2020 to 2023, Parkinson has a career year going with the Rams. He tallied career highs of 43 receptions, 408 yards, and eight touchdowns in the regular season, and Parkinson had two receptions for 34 yards on Saturday.
Seattle drafted Parkinson with a fourth-round draft pick out of Stanford in 2020, and he had 57 receptions for 618 yards and four touchdowns in 54 career games with the Seahawks. He only appeared in one playoff game with the Seahawks in 2022 when he had three receptions for 14 yards.
Parkinson left the Seahawks as a free agent in 2024 and signed a three-year, $22.5 million deal with the Rams. Depending on the Wild Card weekend results, the Seahawks could see the Rams in the Divisional round next week.
Colby Parkinson Coach: ‘I’ve Seen Him Grow’
Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur likes what he has seen of Parkinson this season.
“I’ve seen him grow as a football player,” LaFleur told reporters in December. “There was a reason that we all collectively, Sean [General Manager] Les [Snead] and everyone else were thrilled about grabbing him a year ago out of free agency just from his toughness and some of the things that he could do in all the phases run, pass catching and then pass protection. I think he’s grown so much as a player and as a man.”
“I don’t want to say accepting his role, but embracing everything that we’ve asked him to do and do it at the highest clip that he can,” LaFleur added. “He goes to work, both in the meeting room and the practice, field as well as anyone we have on this squad. He’s a Ram through and through. I couldn’t be happier for his individual success, which is leading to a lot of the stuff that we’ve been able to do offensively.”
Parkinson set the Rams franchise record for most touchdown receptions by a tight end in a season.
Colby Parkinson Won Over Matthew Stafford
Parkinson never became a go-to tight end in Seattle with former Seahawks quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Geno Smith, but Parkinson won over Stafford in Los Angeles, and it showed on Saturday.
“I’ve had a blast getting to work with him,” Stafford told reporters in December. “Watching him continue to get better as a football player is awesome. I think he’s playing as good of football as he probably ever has. That’s a credit to other guys in that room and the coach in that room. They do a hell of a job of pulling for each other. That’s the cool part about that group.”
Ex-Seahawks TE Makes Epic Playoff Game-Winning Catch [Watch]