NEW OPPORTUNITY: A.J. Parker inks with 49ers

Bartlesville High grad eyes 3rd NFL season

Bartlesville High's A.J. Parker, left, makes a play on the ball to prevent a reception during a 2015 game against Ponca City High.
Bartlesville High's A.J. Parker, left, makes a play on the ball to prevent a reception during a 2015 game against Ponca City High.

A.J. Parker will look to the West Coast to revitalize his promising NFL career.

The Bartlesville High School graduate recently signed a reserve/future contract with the San Francisco 49ers.

That move ended Parker's two seasons as a defensive back with the Detroit Lions, during a tenure defined by both opportunity and a long extended stay on the practice squad.

With the 49ers, Parker eyes an opportunity to play with a Super Bowl contender for the 2023-24 campaign. He also could become the second Bartlesville-area prep to suit up for San Francisco.

College High graduate David Baker played from 1959-61 with the 49ers.

Parker, who is only 24, signed in May 2021 as an undrafted free agent with the Lions.

He shattered the odds by earning a spot on the 53-man roster for the 2021 season -- spending the whole year Detroit.

He earned seven starts as a rookie, made 50 tackles (39 solo), recorded seven passes defended, made a forced fumble (against Green Bay) and intercepted a pass (vs. Baker Mayfield).

The buzz about Parker as he entered training camp for 2022 was that he might play an expanded role. But, the Lions waived him at the end of training camp and he spent almost the whole season on the Lions' practice squad.

He was promoted to the big club for about four weeks, for parts of October and November. He played in three games and made 11 tackles prior to the ending back on the practice squad after some roster defensive backs returned to better health.

Parker was the first Bartlesville-area prep product to suit up in a regular season NFL game since Bobby Joe Green (Chicago Bears) in the early 1970s.

Parker played his entire college career at Kansas State, in which he started all games in which he was healthy from his sophomore through senior years.

He excelled in football, basketball and high jump at Bartlesville High. Measuring out at 5-foot-11, Parker set the Bartlesville high jump record at 6-foot-10.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville High graduate A.J. Parker signs with San Francisco 49ers