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The Dallas Cowboys fell short in the NFL playoffs this season. While Dak Prescott has run a strong offense and enters Week 18 as the league’s leading passer, the Cowboys’ defense has been underwhelmed at times this year.
Dallas’ defensive unit was thrust into the spotlight when star pass rusher Micah Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers in August. Parsons, who will miss the remainder of the regular season and the entire postseason with an ACL injury, recently assessed the Cowboys’ defense.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus acknowledged the heavy void left by Parsons’ departure, an admission Parsons responded to with several laughing emojis.
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones meets with outside linebacker Micah Parsons (11) prior to an NFC wild-card playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers at AT&T Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports)
Parsons defended his response by pointing to how longtime team owner Jerry Jones’ handling of Parsons’ reputation played out.
“Do you want me to feel bad?” Parsons wrote on Thursday the X. “Jerry Jones slandered my name to the Cowboys media and national media for months. So I guess I can respond to a comment if I want to!”
Jones addressed those comments from the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year during his routine appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas.
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“I wish Micah the best,” Jones said. “I would love to have Micah in the team. But we just couldn’t afford him. We wanted four or five more players than we did him. But he’s excellent. I understand his sensitivity and can even understand those comments.”
Dallas Cowboys owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones, and Micah Parsons exit during the second quarter of the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Parsons missed four games in 2024 but still finished the season with 12 games played. He has recorded double-digit sacks in each of his five seasons in the NFL.
Parsons compiled 12½ sacks in his first 14 games with the Packers.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones before a game against the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium on September 28, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)
Green Bay sent defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two future first-round draft picks to the Cowboys in late August in exchange for Parsons.
Shortly after the two teams agreed to the deal, Parsons became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. He signed a four-year, $188 million contract, ESPN reported at the time. The contract reportedly included guarantees worth up to $136 million.
In a statement, Parsons thanked the Cowboys and expressed excitement about his next chapter, writing in part, “I never wanted this chapter to end, but not everything was in my control. My heart has always been here, and it still is. Through it all, I never made any demands. I never asked for anything but justice. I only asked for the person I trusted to be part of the process of my contract.”
