Cowboys Nation is wondering if superstar Micah Parsons is a 'problem' and it's time we get real about it
Earlier this week, insider Calvin Watkins wrote a controversial article for the Dallas Morning News questioning if the Dallas Cowboys had a Micah Parsons problem. The premise of the article was based on Parsons' in-season podcast, which has drawn the ire of fans more than once for different reasons. But most significantly, in a couple of instances, […]
Earlier this week, insider Calvin Watkins wrote a controversial article for the Dallas Morning News questioning if the Dallas Cowboys had a Micah Parsons problem.
The premise of the article was based on Parsons' in-season podcast, which has drawn the ire of fans more than once for different reasons. But most significantly, in a couple of instances, it's drawn reactions from players.
The first time happened when Malik Hooker questioned Parsons' focus on football while doing a podcast on a weekly basis. The comments led to some back and forth between he and Parsons.
Most recently, however, Parsons and former Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence got into a social media scrap in which the latter told Micah "maybe if you spent less time tweeting and more time winning, I wouldn’t have left."
While there's no reason to question or doubt Watkins' reporting, I do believe this is a matter of perception and all I intend with this article is to provide an alternate point of view. The way I see it, the Parsons problem is more "nothing" than it is "something."
"It's in the locker room that there might have been a problem with Micah doing an in-season podcast last year," Watkins said on 105.3 The Fan on Wednesday when discussing his article. "Malik Hooker mentioned it, and then this year, before or after Demarcus Lawrence left for Seattle, he said, 'Hey, spend less time on Twitter and more time on trying to win.' I thought it was a little unfair to say that to Micah because Demarcus Lawrence was also part of the 30-year Super Bowl drought."
A couple of notes on that: Hooker had an issue with Parsons' podcast, that much is true. But at the end of the day, his opinion came after an underwhelming end to the 2023-2024 NFL season when the Cowboys were blown out of the water by the seven-seed Green Bay Packers.
If Hooker's opinion matters, doesn't the fact that CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs been on the show matter, too? Watkins himself argued the podcast "is not a big deal." Not to mention, podcasting is a popular hobby for NFL players and no one said a word about Jason and Travis Kelce hosting their popular New Heights show while they were both playing.
As for Lawrence, it's difficult to take the suggestion that him leaving had anything to do with Parsons' social media habits. Earlier in the offseason, he described the potential of returning to the Cowboys as something "glorious." Him heading to Seattle had everything to do with the contract offer that was made. Good for him, he should cash in at this stage of his career. But I'm not sure we can interpret his comments as anything other than Lawrence using a good comeback after Parsons responded to his former teammate's words on the Cowboys.
Voluntary workouts attendance is one of the biggest things you could hold against Parsons. Ideally, he'd be there to begin establishing a relationship with new teammates. However, he wouldn't be the first nor the last veteran to miss voluntary offseason workouts. Is it great optics? No. Is it ideal? Nope, not really. But is it a problem? I don't know about that.
We also must keep in mind stars selected in the 2022 NFL Draft are starting to get contract extensions. Every top-tier player selected in the first-round of the 2021 Draft has gotten paid. Parsons is waiting for his bag. It's understandable if the Cowboys want to see more leadership out of him. But that's one of the issues that would probably go away the moment a deal is in place.
But let's get real: He's not a problem. And his play has already put him on a trajectory to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The guy is special. Let's stop overthinking Micah Parsons.
