Parker Ehinger (born December 30, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

. He was selected by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

in the fourth round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Early life

Ehinger attended Rockford High School, where he was a two-year starter on the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

, while also seeing some action at

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. As a senior, he helped the team achieve an 11–2 record, a district championship, and an appearance in the state semifinals. He received Division 1-2 All-State and

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

Dream Team honors. He was named First-team All-OK-RED and All-Area in his last 2 seasons. He also practiced the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

and

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

College career

Ehinger accepted a football scholarship from the

. He started 13 games at

right tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

as a

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freshman. He started at

right guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

as a sophomore and junior. He started at

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

as a senior, helping the offense rank No. 6 nationally in total offense with a 537.8-yard average per game.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Ehinger was selected by the

in the fourth round (105th overall) of the

. As a rookie, he started 4 games at

left guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

. On November 5, He was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

, after tearing the ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee during the week 8 game against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. On August 21, 2017, he was activated from the Physical Unable to Perform list. He started in the season opener at

, but was declared inactive the rest of the season.

Dallas Cowboys

On August 30, 2018, Ehinger was traded to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in exchange for cornerback

Charvarius Ward Charvarius "Mooney" Ward (born May 16, 1996) is an American professional American football, football cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders foo ...

. He suffered a knee injury in practice and was placed on the injured reserve list on September 7, 2018. On April 10, 2019, the Cowboys waived Ehinger.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On April 11, 2019, Ehinger was claimed off waivers by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. He was waived on May 9, 2019.

Arizona Cardinals

On August 2, 2019, Ehinger was signed by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. He was released on August 31, 2019.

Baltimore Ravens

On September 16, 2019, Ehinger was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on November 30, 2019. He was placed on injured reserve on January 8, 2020. Ehinger re-signed with the Ravens on July 29, 2020. He was released on September 5, 2020. He was re-signed to their practice squad on December 4, 2020. He was placed on the practice squad/injured list on January 12, 2021. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 25, 2021.

Las Vegas Raiders

On June 4, 2021, Ehinger signed with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. He was released on August 23, 2021.

Detroit Lions

On October 6, 2021, Ehinger was signed to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

practice squad.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bearcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehinger, Parker 1992 births Living people People from Rockford, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan American football offensive guards Cincinnati Bearcats football players Kansas City Chiefs players Dallas Cowboys players Jacksonville Jaguars players Arizona Cardinals players Baltimore Ravens players Las Vegas Raiders players Detroit Lions players