Chargers tight end Donald Parham Jr. left last season's Week 15 game to the Chiefs on a stretcher as his body became motionle s following a chilling injury in which his head hit the turf of the end zone early in the first quarter.Parham was transported toHarbor-UCLA Medical Center where he underwent tests and it was later declared that he suffered a concu sion.Now, six months from the freighting injury that leftParham feeling hopele s on Julian Blackmon Jersey a Thursday night at SoFi Stadium, he's got a greater sense of appreciation for what's next in his playing career.Its the opportunity of a lifetime," Parham said on what it felt like to return to the practice field this offseason. "Im just taking advantage of every moment that I have back. After everything that happened, it feels good to be back, for sure.Parham said physically, he feels 100%. But that doesn't go without saying the road it took him to reach this point required months. Parham didn't feel "back to normal" until the end of February to early March the same timeframe where he was cleared to begin physical activity again.With an overabundance of thoughts racing through his mind as he sat in the hospital just hours after the injury occurring, Parham did a lot of reflecting. He was unsure if he'd play another game and thought long and hard about whether or not this was the journey he wanted to continue to pursue.It was crazy because once it happened Kenny Moore II Jersey and I was in the hospital, I was like, Will I ever play again? That reality set in very quick," he said. "I had to take my time and really just Jack Doyle Jersey think about if this was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my career, just making sure that if this was what I wanted to do, I would make my mind up to do it and take the right precautions, listen to the doctors and what they say, that kind of thing.Ultimately, Parham is ready to move forward and put the significant scare behind him. His decision to continue playing stems from his love for the game and the family-type atmosphere that the Chargers' team embodies, giving him a strong desire to continue being apart of the group he calls "special."Parham indicated that he's watched the replay of his injury many times. The injury caught national attention throughout the football landscape as the severity was quite substantial, granting him a swarm of outpouring support for his well-being.Scroll to ContinueWhere cant I see it, you know? Ive watched it," he said. "Ive come to terms with that it happened. Ive seen it a bunch of times and Ive talked to the people that I love, the people around me in my circle, Armani Watts Jersey and they said, Dont rush coming back, and all of that kind of stuff, so that was my big thing: making sure that I was ready to come back. Once mid-March came around, I wanted to do this, I wanted to do it right and make sure that Im taking the right steps and all of that kind of stuff.As Parham now works to attack the offseason, he's focusing on his lower-body strength as a point of emphasis entering the 2022 season."Pa s-blocking, run-blocking, all of it," Parham said, in regards to what Lenny Moore Jersey his lower body strength will contribute to. "I want to be an overall tight end, not just a pa s-catcher."Parham figures to serve as the Chargers' second tight end behind the newly signed Gerald Everett.Parham hauled in three touchdowns acro s 20 grabs last season.Now fully recovered from notable blow to the head that cut his 2021 campaign short, Parham is ready to take on a bigger role in the season ahead.More from Charger Report
