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The Dallas Cowboys fell short of the NFL playoffs this season. While Dak Prescott has powered a strong offense and enters Week 18 as the league’s leading passer, the Cowboys’ defense has underwhelmed at times this year.
Dallas’ defensive unit was thrust into the spotlight when star pass rusher Micah Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers in August. Parsons, who will miss the rest of the regular season and the entire postseason with an ACL injury, recently assessed the Cowboys’ defense.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus acknowledged the heavy void after Parsons’ departure, an admission Parsons responded to with several laughing emoji.
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones meets with outside linebacker Micah Parsons (11) prior to an NFC wild-card playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers at AT&T Stadium Jan. 16, 2022, in Arlington, Texas. (Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports)
Parsons defended his response by pointing to how longtime team owner Jerry Jones’ handling of Parsons’ reputation played out.
“Y’all want me to feel bad?” Parsons wrote Thursday on X. “Jerry Jones slandered my name to Cowboys media and national media for months. So I do think I can react to comment if I want to!”
Jones addressed those comments from the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year during his routine appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas.
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“I wish Micah the very best,” Jones said. “I’d love to have Micah on the team. But we just couldn’t afford him. We wanted four or five players more than we did him. But he’s outstanding. I understand his sensitivity and can even understand these comments.”
Dallas Cowboys owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones, left, and Micah Parsons during the second quarter of the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Parsons missed four games in 2024 but still finished the season with 12 sacks. He has recorded double-digit sacks in each of his five seasons in the NFL.
Parsons compiled 12½ sacks in his first 14 games with the Packers.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones before a game against the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium Sept. 28, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)
Green Bay sent defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two future first-round draft picks to the Cowboys in late August in exchange for Parsons.
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Shortly after the two teams agreed to the deal, Parsons became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. He inked a four-year, $188 million contract, ESPN reported at the time. The contract reportedly included guarantees worth up to $136 million.
In a statement, Parsons thanked the Cowboys and expressed excitement about his next chapter, writing in part, “I never wanted this chapter to end, but not everything was in my control. My heart has always been here, and it still is. Through it all, I never made any demands. I never asked for anything more than fairness. I only asked that the person I trust to negotiate my contract be part of the process.”
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