By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

If there were ever any doubt about the position that the Rams’ newest defensive addition plays, it all goes away with one glance at John Parrella.

As Parrella straps on his helmet and tugs his No. 99 jersey over his broad shoulder pads, he cuts an imposing figure that only a defensive tackle could possess. At 6-feet-3, 300 pounds with a square jaw and freshly shaved head, Parrella has run-stuffer written all over him. And that doesn’t even take into account the 12 seasons and 172 games Parrella has participated in. 

With Jimmy Kennedy, Damione Lewis and Ryan Pickett entrenched as the top three in the middle, Parrella could bring a dimension to the defensive line that the Rams haven’t had since the days of Jeff Zgonina, according to coach Mike Martz.

“He has that motor and physical aspect inside that…I remember when we had to play him, we had to account for him in the running game,” Martz said. “He is very disruptive. Disruptive is probably the best term for him.

“He will define his own role, whatever that is. That’s the type of player he probably is. That’s probably a pretty good analogy. Anytime you can add a player like that to your roster, I think it’s a good deal.”

Parrella made his name with the Chargers, where he spent eight strong seasons as the team’s toughest run-stopper in the middle. Along the way, he helped lead a strong Chargers defense to a Super Bowl appearance in 1994. He has also helped Oakland (2002) and Buffalo (1993) to Super Bowl appearances. Parrella has 26.5 sacks and 406 tackles in his career.

It was Parrella’s performance against the Rams when he was with San Diego that first caught Martz’s eye.

“I have been on a mission to somehow get John here since we played him when he was at San Diego,” Martz said. “It’s kind of like Marc (Bulger). When you have coached against somebody or played against somebody and it’s somebody that really leaves an impression, you do what you can to get them on your team.”

So when Oakland released Parrella on March 2, it didn’t take long for the Rams to get in touch with Parrella. The team met with Parrella soon after and told him about their interest right away. St. Louis wasn’t the only team that went after Parrella, but the veteran defensive tackle was in no hurry to sign and get back to the monotony of training camp.

“Right away, I had one-year deals with some teams,” Parrella said. “But you know what? This is 13 years. I thought we'd try to do it right.”

So Parrella spent his time working out and staying in shape. He said the thought of retirement occurred to him, but his passion for football was still there. He set up a list of things he was looking for in his next team, including the presence of a position coach he respects and is familiar with.

That’s where Rams’ defensive line coach Bill Kollar came in. When Parrella was a senior at Nebraska, Kollar, who was the line coach for the Falcons at the time, worked him out.

Parrella’s familiarity with Kollar helped make the decision easy and that left just one obstacle, an obstacle that Parrella got a not-so-subtle taste of at his first practice with the team Tuesday morning.

“I knew the biggest barrier would be the humidity when I got here,” Parrella said. “I've got to get through that, and of course, we've got a coach that's going to get you in shape.”

Parrella said he is not used to that kind of humidity in California, but he did his best to take to it right away. Although he has been with the Rams for just a few days, he fully expects to get some repetitions in the preseason opener against Chicago on Friday night.

Martz said he is impressed by Parrella’s desire to jump right into the mix.

“Usually, those older vets, they kind of want to ease back into it,” Martz said.

But Parrella has never done anything the easy way and he doesn’t intend to start now.