Micah Parsons responds to Demarcus Lawrence's claim about Cowboys sack lead

Cowboys defensive lineman Demarcus Lawrence is making some changes ahead of the 2022 season. He just turned 30 years old, decided to chop off his dreadlocks, and wants to reclaim his title as the sack king of Dallas.

Lawrence recently expressed regret that he “let a rookie show me up,” last season. In reference to rookie linebacker Micah Parsons stealing the sack crown from Lawrence with a team-high 13 takedowns last season. Don’t be too hard on yourself, Demarcus. The veteran D-lineman battled injuries throughout the 2021 campaign, playing just seven games while recording only three sacks. Not typical production for a guy that led the Cowboys in sacks in three of the four previous seasons.

Lawrence is retuning with a vengeance, though. He vows to “become the sack leader again,” in 2022. No disrespect to the youngster, but Lawrence says he’s going to “let everybody know that I’m coming, how I feel, and the type of respect I’m going to demand when I step on that field.” He’s not messing around. It’s time to “restate my dominance.” Fightin’ words.

When Micah Parsons was asked about Lawrence’s assertions towards reclaiming the sack title, the second-year player said, “it makes me want to compete.” This sort of friendly competition is “healthy for the locker room. I want D-Law to step up,” says Parsons. “I want him to get all the enjoyment that he possibly can, feed his head so he can be a 10-sack guy, great.”

When it comes to leading the team in sacks, though, “sorry to tell him, he’s never getting that back,” Parsons declared. “If 10’s the number, I’m going for 20.” The rookie seems dead set on not only replicating his success in 2021, but adding to it.

“You’ve just got to go out there and compete,” Parsons added. “It’s just going to be a race to the quarterback. I’m excited.”

Either Parsons or Lawrence have led the cowboys in sacks in four of the last five seasons. Parsons notched 13 of them last season while Lawrence dealt with injuries. But Lawrence led the previous season with 6.5. He also recorded back-to-back seasons of 14.5 and 10.5 sacks in 2017 and 2018 to lead the team.

Dallas has some serious pass-rushing talent on its roster ahead of the 2022 season.