Dallas Cowboys place Micah Parsons on COVID-19 list, will miss season finale
The Dallas Cowboys placed rookie linebacker Micah Parsons on the NFL’s COVID-19 list on Wednesday, and he will not be available to play in Saturday’s final regular season game against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
If the game was on Sunday, as originally scheduled, Parsons might have had a chance to play in the game if he had no symptoms following a five-day quarantine.
But the game was moved from Sunday to Saturday by the NFL, which is within the five-day period.
Parsons offered an apology to his teammates and Cowboys fans on Twitter.
“I saddened by the news I feel like I let my team down and Dallas cowboys nation! I’ll be back better than ever!! I’m only going to be more hungry! See you soon,” Parsons wrote.
Parsons, who is vying to become the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year and the league’s overall Defensive Player of the Year — a double not accomplished in 40 years — was hoping to have a stellar game in his native Pennsylvania. Parsons is from Harrisburg and played at Penn State
The situation leaves the Cowboys thin at linebacker for the Eagles game with Leighton Vander Esch, Keanu Neal and Luke Gifford on the active roster.
Safety Jayron Kearse filled in at linebacker last Sunday with Neal out with COVID-19, but Kearse has been limited in practice this week with a hamstring strain.
It ends a sensational rookie regular season for Parsons, who leads the team with 13 sacks, 30 quarterback hits and a league-leading 20 tackles for losses.
Parsons will not get a chance to break Jevon Kearse’s 22-year-old NFL rookie sack record of 14.5 in the season finale, however, he should be back for the wild-card round of the playoffs, which begin next weekend.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 12:18 PM.
