ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Micah Parsons says he has never needed “fuel” going into a football game.
The star pass rusher insists that’s the case with his Green Bay Packers visiting Dallas on Sunday night, exactly a month after the Cowboys unloaded Parsons in a blockbuster trade that ended a long and acrimonious stalemate over a contract extension.
“I just feel like my fuel’s always been trying to be the best player,” Parsons said. “When you’ve got a good team and you’ve got to beat them, you’ve got to show up in the prime-time games, that you’ve got to be your best player for yourself, for your team and everyone there.”
Parsons has 1 1/2 sacks for the Packers (2-1), while the Cowboys (1-2) not surprisingly have been left with one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL. Dallas also has the 32nd-ranked pass defense as it prepares to face Jordan Love.
Parsons told The Associated Press early in the week that it would be “painful” to sack his mentor, Dak Prescott. Surely the pain will turn to glee if does get the franchise quarterback on the ground.
“I hope it’s not (painful) for me,” Prescott said. “And I hope he doesn’t get me for one.”
It could be a painful day for Dallas fans who tried to implore owner Jerry Jones to pay Parsons as the contract issue lingered through training camp and the preseason.
The trade was contingent upon Parsons agreeing to a $188 million, four-year extension. That $47 million annual average is the highest for a non-quarterback in league history.
Jones said he believed he had a deal in place with Parsons at $40.5 million per season, which at the time would have made Parsons the first defensive player to surpass $40 million annually.
The agreement came in a conversation between the two, and Jones never engaged Parsons’ agent despite the 2021 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year’s insistence that David Mulugheta be his final negotiator.
Surely there will be plenty of Parsons’ No. 11 Cowboys jerseys at AT&T Stadium, including the ones that are doctored in some form of protest against Jones.
There also figures to be a fair share of No. 1 Packers jerseys, and plenty of Green Bay fans anticipating a lopsided win with the Packers favored by a touchdown on the road, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
Parsons is confident he will get a warm reception, and isn’t bothered by Jones saying a video tribute isn’t appropriate after four seasons with the club. Parsons was a two-time All-Pro.
“I think the world of Micah as an individual and of course know him well,” Jones said on his radio show during the week. “I might say, ‘Wish him well,’ except it’s obvious I don’t this weekend in terms of Green Bay winning the game.”
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