The Chargers added one of the NFL’s most explosive return specialists when they signed former Buffalo Bill Roscoe Parrish.

His arrival in San Diego offers the veteran a chance at a fresh start after an ankle injury ended his 2011 season after two games and a wrist injury ended his 2010 campaign mid-season. Parrish posted record numbers as a punt returner in Buffalo where he was a two-time AFC Special Teams Player of the Week who averaged 12.0 yards per return while taking three punts back for scores. He also became the first player in NFL history to return punts for scores in back-to-back Kickoff Weekend games, doing so in 2007 and ’08. Also in 2007 and ’08, Parrish led the NFL in punt return average with figures of 15.3 and 16.3, respectively. In addition, he racked up more than 1,500 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches, while averaging 23.6 yards on kickoff returns.

Parrish grew up in Miami and attended the University of Miami, where he became a hometown star wide receiver and punt returner. As a junior, he took a vicious hit in a game against rival Florida State that landed him in the intensive care unit for two days. Weeks later he endured personal heartache when his grandmother, Jesse Anderson, who helped raise him, passed away the week before the ’Canes faced Pittsburgh for the Big East title. Parrish flew to Pittsburgh to meet his teammates after her funeral and caught a 45-yard touchdown pass that helped put a seal on the conference championship. He opted to leave Miami after his junior season in 2004 and the Bills selected him in the second round of the ’05 NFL Draft.

Quiet and soft-spoken, Parrish enjoys spending time with his kids, Roscoe III, Rohanni and London. He also likes going to movies, listening to music and playing basketball. Read