The Denver Broncos on Tuesday signed unrestricted free-agent wide receiver Samie Parker, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced. The club also waived wide receiver Derrick Hamilton and tight end Chad Upshaw.
Parker (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) is a fifth-year player who joins the Broncos after spending his first four professional seasons with Kansas City. The Chiefs selected him in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft from the University of Oregon.
In 47 career games (31 starts), Parker has totaled 110 receptions for 1,529 yards (13.9 avg.) with seven touchdowns. Parker, who recorded consecutive 500-yard receiving seasons for the Chiefs from 2005-06, also has appeared in one career playoff game and owns five career tackles on special teams.
During the 2007 season, Parker registered 24 receptions for 298 yards (12.4 avg.) with two touchdowns in 15 games (7 starts) for the Chiefs. He caught at least one pass in all but two of his appearances that year.
The wide receiver posted career highs in starts (15), receptions (41) and receiving yards (561) with Kansas City in 2006. He added one touchdown catch that year, appearing in all 16 regular-season games as well as the club's AFC Wild Card Playoff Game at Indianapolis.
Parker registered a personal-best three receiving touchdowns for Kansas City in 2005, finishing with 36 catches for 533 yards (14.8 avg.) in 12 games (9 starts). He saw time in four games as a rookie in 2004 and made nine receptions for 137 yards (15.2 avg.), including a 48-yard score.
At Oregon, Parker set a school single-season record with 77 receptions for 1,088 yards (14.1 avg.) and seven touchdowns as a senior to earn honorable mention All-Pacific-10 Conference honors.
Parker, who attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, Calif., was born on March 25, 1981