Seahawks Rumors: 3 players Seattle should definitely not trade at the deadline

Seattle should not move Colby Parkinson

It took Colby Parkinson a couple of years to really make his mark in the NFL. There are probably two reasons for this. One is that he had a foot injury prior to his rookie year and he missed training camp. He only played in six games. The following season he played in 14 games but the quarterback at the time, Russell Wilson, wasn't really known for involving his tight ends very much and Parkinson had just 5 catches on 8 targets.

Things got better in 2022 for Parkinson and he got 34 targets from Geno Smith and Parkinson caught 25 of them, including 2 touchdown receptions. He averaged a solid 12.9 yards a reception and 14 of his 23 other receptions went for first downs. That's very good production.

This year he is trending toward a career year. He has 11 catches for 132 yards. That's not huge production, but he is part of a very good tight end rotation for the Seahawks. Take Parkinson away from a group that also includes Will Dissly and Noah Fant (according to Pro Football Focus - subscription required - all three Seattle tight ends rank in the top 30 of all NFL tight ends in 2023) and the entire unit suffers as does the offense overall. No defense is likely ever going to consistently double-team Parkinson but at 6'7" he is a big target, and he can catch and run fairly well. He's also a better blocker than most expected.

Parkinson will be a free agent after 2023, but he is still only 24 years old though he's spent four seasons in the league. He needs to be a priority for Seattle to bring back as he could be a bigger part of the offense in 2024, especially if Fant leaves in free agency.