Micah Parsons issues ‘call to action’: Cowboys need ‘aggressive’ offseason

Micah Parsons had to watch the Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl LIX, and now the Dallas Cowboys star wants to see his team operate with urgency this offseason.

“Yeah, that makes me hurt, man,” Parsons said about watching the Eagles win the title, according to the Cowboys’ team website. “Over the past couple years, we kind of got our wins and losses against them, and battled with them. Obviously, talent is here, but we’ve just got to finish and go be aggressive the same way they did, you know?

“I don’t wanna sit back and just watch other people build and build and build and [we] stay the same. So we definitely need some call to action.”

Dallas is coming off a 7-10 season during which the team lost quarterback Dak Prescott after eight games due to a hamstring injury, missed the playoffs and then parted ways with head coach Mike McCarthy after five years.

Parsons, a two-time All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in each of his four seasons in the NFL, totaled 12 sacks, two forced fumbles and 43 combined tackles in 13 games; he missed four games due to an ankle injury. On the whole, though, the Cowboys defense struggled mightily under coordinator Mike Zimmer, as they surrendered 218.1 passing yards (17th in the NFL), 137.1 rushing yards (29th), 355.2 total yards (28th) and 27.5 points (31st) per game.

Dallas is now led by former team offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who brought in former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus to be the team’s defensive coordinator.

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Dallas, which will select 12th in the 2025 NFL Draft, is projected to be over the cap this offseason. But Parsons doesn’t want cap restraints to hinder the Cowboys from upgrading their roster.

“I want to see us be aggressive, and I wanna see us get players that’s gonna help us — that’s gonna come in and make an impact,” Parsons said. “And I wanna see us bring back our own players that are just as important, and let’s see what we can do there. There’s been a new wave in the NFL. You saw it with the Rams, and [even though they] drafted some of those guys, you always can’t hit like that.

“The 49ers went and got Javon Hargrave, and they went and got some impactful players on their side. … You look at Philly and how they went and got Saquon [Barkley] and how they went and got Zack [Baun]. Everyone doesn’t need a max deal. There are great quality players that can do one-year or two-year deals. Obviously, we’ve seen that this year. There’s been a trend.”

As for Dallas’ players, guard and seven-time All-Pro Zack Martin, running back Rico Dowdle (1,079 rushing yards in 2024), linebacker Eric Kendricks (team-high 138 combined tackles in 2024), wide receiver/returner Kavontae Turpin, receiver Brandin Cooks and defensive linemen Demarcus Lawrence, Osa Odighizuwa and Chauncey Golston are among the Cowboys’ impending free agents.

Last year, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that the franchise was going “all-in,” but that was followed by an underwhelming offseason. Then in the weeks leading up to the 2024 regular season, Jones extended Prescott (four-year, $240 million deal) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (four-year, $136 million deal).

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As for the Cowboys’ NFC East foes, the Washington Commanders — who made the NFC Championship Game this past season, led by Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels — have roughly $75 million in cap space, the third-most in the league, according to Over The Cap. Meanwhile, the Eagles have roughly 18.1 million in cap space, and the New York Giants, who have the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft, have roughly $43.4 million in cap space.

Parsons, who has registered 12-plus sacks in each of his four pro seasons, is extension-eligible and has one year remaining on his rookie contract. He’s already 13th in Cowboys history with 52.5 career sacks and is tied for ninth with nine forced fumbles.

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