Cowboys' Mike McCarthy isn't exactly hiding his discontent with Micah Parsons' absence from OTAs
If there was a roll call at the beginning of each Dallas Cowboys practice during OTAs, Micah Parsons wouldn't be heard saying "here."While that's not exactly the biggest problem in the world considering workouts are voluntary, things took an unexpected turn as Parsons wasn't present on Thursday despite earlier indications that he would join the […]
If there was a roll call at the beginning of each Dallas Cowboys practice during OTAs, Micah Parsons wouldn't be heard saying "here."
While that's not exactly the biggest problem in the world considering workouts are voluntary, things took an unexpected turn as Parsons wasn't present on Thursday despite earlier indications that he would join the Cowboys for the second week of OTAs.
One thing is to not attend and another to claim you are, then not do it.
Parsons' absence isn't contract-related like CeeDee Lamb's, at least not that we know of and the whole point of a holdout is to make it public, but rather his desire to train individually.
Talking to reporters on Thursday, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy didn't show signs of panic but it would be pretty hard to make it seem like he wasn't unhappy with the situation.
"I'm not doing attendance," McCarthy bluntly told the media on Thursday. "I’m not gonna come up here and talk about one player when 98 percent are here."
Not trying to make it seem like the end of the world here, but if that's not a slight jab at Parsons' absence then what is?
McCarthy also opened up about the impact of Parsons' absence from a camaraderie point of view. Notably, the Cowboys head coach didn't attempt to pivot from the question nor play it cool. Instead, he kept it real and admitted it was a missed opportunity.
"Anytime you have a chance to be together, it's an opportunity to improve, whether it's in the mental realm, the physical realm, which is limited obviously at this time of year, and the emotional connection and so forth," McCarthy said candidly. "But, you know, it's a long year. Training camp is really the heightened focus for all of that. Yeah, it's definitely an opportunity that's been missed."
Is Micah Parsons in the wrong?
It's always tough to take a firm stance when it comes to situations like this. On the one hand, these are voluntary workouts and it shouldn't be a big deal for a player to miss them. But then again, considering Parsons isn't holding out like Lamb is, why not spend time in the locker room with the young players joining the team including second-round draft pick Marshawn Kneeland?
It's not like Parsons is training privately in a Russian snowy mountain like Rocky. He is in town. He's spent time training in a nearby boxing gym and even was in the building for a gym session on Wednesday. Is the trade off of not being around versus spending a few more days with the team really worth it in his preparation?
I'm not trying to knock on Micah here or stir up drama where there isn't any but these should be fair questions for a player that's talked a whole lot about being a top-notch leader for the team.
At the end of the day, previous seasons are a clear indication Parsons will be ready to go when the season starts. But this is more of a team morale question than a Parsons training one.
