Here comes Samie.
The Broncos reached an agreement Monday with former Kansas City Chiefs receiver Samie Parker on a one-year contract.
“I’m a Bronco,” Parker said Monday night in Denver. “This is a good situation for me because I’m going to be able to come in and compete for a job.”
Parker had 41 catches for 561 yards in 2006, but was essentially bumped last year by Chiefs first-round draft pick Dwayne Bowe.
With the Broncos, Parker will try to win the No. 4 or 5 receiver spot behind Brandon Marshall, Keary Colbert and Brandon Stokley. The Broncos are also trying to sign free-agent receiver Darrell Jackson, who had 87 catches for 1,199 yards for Seattle in 2004. The Broncos also have holdovers Glenn Martinez, Taylor Jacobs and Edell Shepherd with NFL experience, so Parker will have to shine in the preseason to win a job.
“There are great receivers on every team,” Parker said. “That’s just the way it is in NFL. I’m looking forward to the competition.”
Parker, 27, was to receive the minimum $605,000 salary plus a $40,000 signing bonus. It will take more to sign Jackson, who caught 10 touchdown passes for Seattle in 2006, but had just 47 catches last year following a trade to San Francisco.
Vanderjagt, Berger audition
With very little experience at their kicker and punter positions, the Broncos held tryouts for two of each Monday at their Dove Valley practice field. The kickers were veteran Mike Vanderjagt, the most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history, and Kenny Byrd, formerly of New Mexico who was 4-for-4 in field goals during the preseason for Detroit last year.
The punters were Mitch Berger, a two-time Pro Bowler who went to the University of Colorado, and Danny Baugher, who was recently waived by the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Broncos were just looking. They will wait until after the draft before they consider making offers to compete with kicker Matt Prater and punter Sam Paulescu. The top kicking prizes in the draft are Georgia Tech punter Durant Brooks, Toledo punter Brett Kern and Wisconsin place kicker Taylor Melhoff.
