Micah Parsons welcomes attention from opponents: 'Please come visit'
Micah Parsons, one of the league’s most out-spoken newcomers of the past few years, doesn’t shy away from a camera or a microphone.
He welcomes the attention that comes from being one of the Dallas Cowboys’ best defenders, especially from his opposition.
“That’s cool. Come,” Parsons said, via Jon Machota. “We want them to come. If you go to a safari, you see buses, they all pull up on lions. And they don’t flinch. Why? Because they are king. They’re not going to flinch. Please come visit. You’re more than welcome. I’m OK with feeling uncomfortable. That’s how you evolve.”
Once again comparing himself to a lion, the former Penn State first-rounder says he’s comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.
Parsons planning to evolve role for 2023
To evolve on the field this season, Parsons, and Cowboys coordinator Dan Quinn, plan to expand his role around the defense. The edge rusher has already warned fans that he may not get as many sacks this year as he did in 2021 and 2022.
The third-year defender now says he’ll play as many as eight positions. He chose not to say which eight positions those would be.
“We’re doing a lot of special things,” Parsons said of this year’s defense. “I don’t want to give a lot away right now, but it’s going to be a really cool year. I’m probably going to play like eight positions this year.”
He earned AP Defensive Rookie of the Year after he racked up 13 sacks and 20 tackles in 2021. Last year, his remarkable level of dominance continued, and he tallied up 13.5 sacks.
He told reporters during OTAs that he’s “off the sack wave.”
“I’m kinda off the sack wave. I’m onto the impact wave,” Parsons said, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “You see Aaron Donald. He can have 12 sacks, but the impact he makes is so dominant. You can tell.
“I really just want to be dominant. And then you see guys who have 16-17 sacks, but they’re not considered a guy. I want to be a guy, not one of the guys. You feel me? I’m not chasing for something. I’m trying to achieve and be greater than someone who is chasing.”