Chargers add another receiver/returner

It appeared the San Diego Chargers were done adding to their wide receiver depth chart after signing Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal last month, but they have now proved they weren't. The Chargers signed former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Roscoe Parrish to a one-year deal tonight.

A 2005 second-round pick, Parrish has done most of his damage on returns in the NFL. In 77 games with the Bills, he's returned three punts for touchdowns, the longest being 82 yards, and posted a 12-yard average. He also has a 23.6-yard average on kick returns.

Parrish never lived up to the hype as a receiver, as he has just 134 receptions for 1,502 yards and seven touchdowns in his seven-year career. He's missed 24 games over the last two years, thanks to ankle and wrist injuries that landed him on injured reserve. Before suffering that wrist injury in 2010, he was on his way to having his best season, catching 33 passes for 400 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers are telling, since that was the first time he had played with a somewhat decent quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick. Prior to that point Parrish had caught passes from Kelly Holcomb, J.P. Losman, Trent Edwards, and Brian Brohm--all of whom were either career backups or total flops in the NFL. Needless to say, Parrish has never played with a quarterback as good as San Diego's Philip Rivers.

With this signing, the Chargers now have Parrish, Meachem, Royal, Malcom Floyd, 2011 third-round pick Vincent Brown, and Richard Goodman on the wide receiver depth chart. Meachem and Floyd will probably be the top two receivers, and Royal and Brown will most likely be next in line. Royal will most likely be the team's punt returner. Goodman and Parrish, meanwhile, will probably engage in a preseason battle for the right to be the team's main kick returner. The loser of that duel could very well find himself looking for a new team, as it's not out of the question that head coach Norv Turner will carry just five receivers in 2012.