Micah Parsons on Cowboys missing Super Bowls: 'I'm tired of watching'
Micah Parsons is tired of waiting for his moment — his moment to play for the richest prize in the NFL, the Lombardi Trophy.
Though Parsons is just entering his third season in the league with the Dallas Cowboys, the star edge rusher has already accomplished a lot. 26.5 sacks in 33 games. Defensive Rookie of the Year. Two first-team All-Pro selections. And yet, the 24-year-old isn’t satisfied. He wants to help the Cowboys win their first Super Bowl since 1996.
Speaking recently on the “Pivot Podcast,” Parsons outlined the reasons why Dallas hasn’t gotten it done the last two years and expressed his desire to win one this season.
“I can’t wait for mine,” Parsons said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “I’ve only been here two years and I’m tired of watching. I feel like each year I’ve been here, I had a team that’s capable. I didn’t walk into a bad organization with bad talent. My first year, we lost to the [San Francisco] 49ers because we were undisciplined. We had so many penalties. Offsides and we were about to get the ball back. We got a defensive holding on the d-lineman. That’s non-football. That’s not football related.
“We missed our opportunities last year with the dropped picks and stuff. I don’t even blame the offense, bro. Self reflection. People don’t want to do that. It’s so easy to blame [someone else]. What didn’t I do?”
Micah Parsons: Cowboys are ‘top team in the NFC’
Heading into the 2023 season, Parsons believes the Cowboys are the NFC’s best. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, their NFC East rival who represented the conference in last season’s Super Bowl.
“I think we are the top team in the NFC. No one can beat you except yourself,” Parsons said on 105.3 The Fan last month. “You look at our game last year, that’s a game we could have won. We beat ourselves with mistakes and things like that. I think we are the top team when you talk about numbers and experience – guys we got back.
“I think we’re the only team that gained players. We didn’t lose a [former Eagle and now 49ers’ defensive tackle] Javon Hargrave, and then draft somebody. We have everybody across the board. When you talked about years playing together – years of experience – I think we’re up there to be that better team.”
Cowboys make several moves in hopes of winning Super Bowl
Notable names no longer with the Cowboys from last season are tight end Dalton Schultz, receiver Noah Brown, offensive lineman Connor McGovern, defensive tackle Carlos Watkins and running back Ezekiel Elliott. All were significant contributors for Dallas last season – but not irreplaceable in the eyes of the front office.
The Cowboys were active from the jump in free agency, however. They signed safety Donovan Wilson, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, defensive end Dante Fowler, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and franchise-tagged running back Tony Pollard to keep them off the free agency market.
Team owner Jerry Jones and his front office also executed trades that sent two 2023 fifth-round picks out of Dallas in exchange for former Houston Texans wideout Brandin Cooks and former Indianapolis Colts cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
Because of the team’s work in free agency and with the draft, along with the players and coaches carried over from 2022, Jones is feeling like 2023 could be the year for Dallas.
“Well, I certainly think, and came to camp with the idea in mind, that if we can have the kind of camp we want to have, that we can have a team that can compete for the top spot,” Jones said to the media on report day in Oxnard. “I don’t want to understate that. There’s a lot of work to be done. We’re going to play a lot of young players. Look at the defense, Dak [Prescott], we have a chance to be a contender.”