The Dallas Cowboys fanbase was hit to its core when owner, Jerry Jones, and co. decided to trade star edge rusher, Micah Parsons, to the Green Bay Packers for two first round picks and defensive tackle, Kenny Clark, this past Thursday.
Whilst the Cowboys gave a multitude of reasons why they moved off the now highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history, including wanting to build for the future and needing to more effectively stop the run, one of the bigger catalysts could have been his role amongst his peers with the team.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Parsons did not share the same level of popularity and revere in the locker room as fellow highly-compensated individuals like CeeDee Lamb and quarterback, Dak Prescott.
Indeed, per Breer, one of those players – Prescott – reportedly took some issue with Parsons’ behaviour – particularly those created by his podcast The Edge With Micah Parsons, according to the insider’s latest piece on Friday.
Both Players And Coaches Had Some Issues With Parsons
“Martin, Lamb and Prescott are/were very popular in the locker room.” Breer wrote. “Thatâs not the case with Parsons, who has rankled teammates in different ways, seen by some as egotistical and self-centered. His podcast has created issues, too, that go all the way up to quarterback Dak Prescott.”
Breer also noted that members of the defensive coaching staff had some frustrations with his play on the field, where he would sometimes neglect his run-stopping duties in an attempt to make big, flashy game-altering plays.
“Some of it spilled into Parsonsâs play. Previous defensive staffs had trouble with him at times because he would play out of structure in an effort to make big plays, which led to the run-defense issues Jerry and Stephen Jones kept referencing at their press conference.
That does happen with great pass rushersâit was just too common with Parsons and, again, he was too smart a football player for these to be a string of honest mistakes.”
Was Parsons’ Behaviour The Reason He Was Traded?
Probably yes and no. Players with outstanding character and wholehearted reverence and adoration are almost never traded in the midst of their prime.
That being said, it is not as if this Parsons deal is some sort of regular occurrence; the last deal that resembled this one in terms of likeness and stature is the Khalil Mack trade to the Chicago Bears back in 2018, over seven years ago.
Even with his idiosyncrasies, it is certainly not as if Parsons was outwardly hated amongst the other members of the squad, but it seems like off the field ownership did not feel that simply HAD to keep him as a binding member of the locker room and arbiter of strong team culture.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN suggests that the bigger reasons for the trade stem from Jones’ fear that the team could end up being uncompetitive on defense – with or without Parsons – and that paying the ex Nittany Lion could stymie the rest of the roster financially, and force them to move off other valuable talents like Tyler Smith and DaRon Bland.
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