# Donald Parham

Donald Durand Parham Jr. (born August 16, 1997) is an American professional football tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stetson, and signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

## Early life and college

Parham grew up in Lakeland, Florida, where he initially excelled playing basketball at Lake Gibson High School. Despite coming from a rich lineage of football players, including his father and four uncles who all played college football, Parham didn’t play football until his senior season. He excelled at wide receiver and defensive end, and committed to play college football at Stetson.
After seeing minimal action in four games a freshman, Parham took on a large role as a sophomore, converting to tight end and playing in 11 games (6 starts), recording 37 catches for 455 yards and a team-leading six touchdown receptions. As a junior, Parham led Stetson’s pass-catchers with 58 receptions for 817 yards and a touchdown, and was named Honorable Mention All-Conference. During his senior season, he had 85 receptions for 1,319 yards and 13 touchdowns, and was voted FCS First-Team All-American for his efforts.
Parham finished his career as Stetson’s all-time leading receiver, recording 180 receptions for 2,591 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was selected to participate in the NFLPA Bowl and Senior Bowl upon the conclusion of his college career.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 6 ft 8+3⁄8 in (2.04 m) | 240 lb (109 kg) | 36+1⁄8 in (0.92 m) | 10+1⁄2 in (0.27 m) | 4.68 s | 1.68 s | 2.75 s | 4.51 s | 7.53 s | 38.5 in (0.98 m) | 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) | 17 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine ||||||||||||

### Detroit Lions

On May 10, 2019, Parham signed with the Detroit Lions after going undrafted in the 2019 NFL draft. He was waived on May 12, 2019.

### Washington Redskins

He signed with the Washington Redskins on June 7, 2019, after a minicamp tryout. Parham was waived on August 31, 2019, but re-signed to their practice squad on September 12. He was released on September 17, 2019.

### Arlington Renegades

Parham was selected by the Arlington Renegades of the XFL in the ninth round of the 2020 XFL Draft. In his second game versus the Los Angeles Wildcats, Parham made five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

### Los Angeles Chargers

Parham signed with the Los Angeles Chargers on April 14, 2020. During his first game in week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Parham recorded his first career reception, a 19-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Justin Herbert, during the 38–31 loss.
While attempting to catch a pass during a week 15 game against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, Parham dove for a ball in the back of the end zone. Without contacting an opponent he landed on his elbow and then rolled onto his back, which caused his head to make contact with the ground and go unconscious and demonstrated a fencing pose with rigid arms. After about 10 minutes, with arms still rigid and hands shaking, he was taken to Harbor–UCLA Medical Center and was said to be in stable condition, undergoing tests for a head injury. He was placed on injured reserve on December 25.
On November 5, 2022, Parham was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on December 17.
On March 17, 2023, Parham signed a two-year contract with the Chargers worth $2.535 million.
Parham was released by the Chargers as part of final roster cuts on August 27, 2024.

### Denver Broncos

On August 28, 2024, Parham was signed to the Denver Broncos practice squad.

### Pittsburgh Steelers

On February 21, 2025, Parham was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year deal.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost |
| 2020 | LAC | 13 | 5 | 10 | 159 | 15.9 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | LAC | 14 | 9 | 20 | 190 | 9.5 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | LAC | 6 | 1 | 10 | 130 | 13.0 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | LAC | 14 | 8 | 27 | 285 | 10.6 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 47 | 23 | 67 | 764 | 11.4 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 0 |