Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers are headed to Dallas to play the Cowboys on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 4. Packers-Cowboys is always a special matchup, given the history of the two franchises and all the memorable matchups of the past, but Sunday’s renewal of the rivalry adds another layer in Parsons, who was traded by the Cowboys to the Packers before the start of the regular season. Sunday will mark the month anniversary of the historic trade between two historic teams.
Parsons, a 2021 first-round pick, spent his first four seasons in Dallas, becoming one of the NFL’s most feared defensive players. His homecoming is primetime on Sunday.
Here’s everything Parsons said on Wednesday about his upcoming return to Dallas:
— “I just feel like it’s going to be another game for me. Obviously have a lot of ties there. The atmosphere is going to be great. I know what a Packer game looks like. I know the fanbase is going to be pretty rowdy. I’m just excited for a competitive matchup.”
— “For me, my fuse is trying to be the best player. When you got a good team, and you have to beat them, you have to show up in a primetime game, this is the moment you have to be your best player for yourself and your team.”
— “Once the game starts, who is going to be worried about any trade? It’s just me against them five men in front of me. We have one common goal and that’s to win the football game. How we win the football game is winning the line of scrimmage and affecting Dak…once the game (begins), no one is talking about the trade, we talking about winning a football game.”
— On reception from Cowboys fans: “I think Dallas loves me. I think they will give me a good round of applause. There’s no hard feelings there, at least for me. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. This is some of the best football you’re going to get in Dallas when it’s Sunday night and a rivalry opponent.”
— Parsons said he still keeps in touch with Trevon Diggs and CeeDee Lamb, and all the guys in the defensive line room.
— Parsons said he still has his suite at AT&T Stadium (“no refunds”) so he didn’t have to buy any tickets for family and friends. “The suite is going to be packed out, for sure.” He did reach out to Kenny Clark about using the suite this year.
— On knowing the Cowbyos: “I know how these guys play, I know how they want to play, I know the identity that they wanted to create. I have to use that to my advantage.” Parsons said he spent all of training camp helping out the offensive and defensive lines. Specifically mentioned mentoring left tackle Tyler Guyton and rookie Tyler Booker.
— On no CeeDee Lamb on Sunday night: “I think the offense is completely different without CeeDee Lamb.” He said Lamb is his favorite receiver in the NFL. “I’m honestly excited that he’s not going to be on that field, because it’d be painful to know who I’m going against.” Expecting to get a different game plan this week know that the Cowboys know he’s out.
— On disrespect from Cowboys not doing a tribute: “No. There are a lot of things I could consider disrespectful throughout this process, but the tribute isn’t one of them…there are hard feelings maybe for them, but for me, I’m happy with where I’m at, and we have a really good football team. I guess I could do my tribute with a win, I hope.”
— Would making a big play on Sunday be a big deal: “I look for those plays every week…I try every play to make that type of play. That’s why they brought me here. That’s why my value was so high because I make those type of plays. I just gotta be me, know when my opportunity is going to come.”
— “I have a great challenge ahead of me. I know they aren’t going to make it easy for me. They have a plan for me. It’s not about me. If they worry about me, I have other guys, I have D-Wy. I have Karl. I have Rashan, who is dominating this year. We have a group of guys that they need to focus on, so I have that to my advantage.”
— On Dak Prescott: “I think Dak is good so because he’s overly confident. He believes he can make every throw, and 90 percent of the time he does do that. You want your quarterback to have that mentality. He’s very resilient, very determined, I would never bet against him.”