Back in late February, Raiders coach Jon Gruden said offensive tackle Brandon Parker was living in Mississippi with Gabe Jackson, working out and eating mounds of food in an attempt to gain weight and strength.
Jackson confirmed as much, and also cleared up Parker’s living situation in an interview with The Athletic’s Vic Tafur. Parker, a former third-round pick out of North Carolina A&T, has added about 25 pounds to his 6-foot-8 frame in preparation for his second year in the NFL.
“He is up to 330 now. He’s gotten good and strong. We work out once a day, five days a week,” Jackson said of Parker, according to Tafur.
Jackson said the two aren’t actually living together, but Parker has an apartment nearby. He also said it’s just Parker that’s eating an excess of food, not Jackson. The Raiders’ starting guard is trying to maintain his roughly 335-pound playing weight.
Parker was rushed into action his rookie year after former Raiders OT Donald Penn was lost for the season, and he struggled mightily in 12 starts. He won’t be counted on to start again after Oakland’s acquisition of OT Trent Brown, but given his youth and athletic ability, he’ll get every chance to be the primary backup. It was clear he lacked the power needed to be a factor in the NFL last season, and thanks to Jackson, there will be more of Parker for defenders to deal with in 2019.
