Raiders announce Roscoe Parrish signing

Head Coach Dennis Allen On signing WR Roscoe Parrish: “Pretty quickly. We wanted a chance to take a look at him, especially as a punt returner. It’s like I said before, we’re watching the waiver wires to see if there is anybody that’s got a chance to help us. We’ll get a chance to get him out there, return some kicks on Thursday night, and see what we’ve got.”

On Parrish as a wide receiver: “He’s got some quickness in the slot, but he’s primary purpose is to come in and see what he can do as a punt returner.”
The Raiders confirmed the move in a press release Tuesday, referring to Parrish as “a dangerous return specialist.”

Parrish addresses one of the Raiders’ biggest weaknesses during the preseason, punt returns. Oakland has averaged just 4.4 yards per punt return in their three preseason games.

Parrish, five feet, 10 inches and 168 pounds, was released by the San Diego Chargers on Monday. He spent all of his first seven seasons with the Buffalo Bills.
In 77 career games, Parrish has returned 135 punts with an average of 12 yards per return. He has also averaged 23.6 yard per kick return and has 134 career receptions fore 1,502 yards and seven touchdowns.

Parrish’s most productive seasons came in 2007 and 2008 when he averaged 16.3 and 15.3 yards per punt return, respectively. He had a career-high 400 yards receiving in 2010.

To make room on the team’s active roster for Parrish, the Raiders waived offensive tackle Zach Hurd.


(csnbayarea.com)