Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons named top rookie, but Hall of Fame snubs DeMarcus Ware
It was a bittersweet night for the Dallas Cowboys at the NFL Honors Awards show Thursday night.
Linebacker and pass rush specialist Micah Parsons capped his spectacular rookie season with the league’s top first-year honor as the unanimous pick for the Associated Press NFL Rookie of the Year, while all-time great DeMarcus Ware, the team’s career sack leader, was snubbed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Ware will be back on the ballot again next year and be a favorite for induction.
Ware played nine years with the Cowboys after being picked 11th overall in 2005. He played his final three seasons with the Denver Broncos and won Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.
He was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 2000s and was a seven-time All-Pro (including four first-team nominations) and nine-time Pro Bowler. He twice led the league in sacks (2008, 2010).
He is one of 11 players with at least 20 sacks in a season. He had seven straight seasons of 11 sacks or more.
He finished his career ninth in all-time in sacks with 138.5, including 117 with the Cowboys. All eight player ahead of him on the NFL’s sack list are in the NFL Hall of Fame.
So it’s just a matter of when for Ware.
It would have been fitting for Ware to share this night Parsons, who was not only the most impactful rookie defender in team history since Ware joined the Cowboys in 2005 but also one of the best first-year players in NFL history.
Parsons’ accomplishments are worthy of standing alone.
He became the first player in franchise history to win AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and is the first ever unanimous winner, sweeping all 50 votes, while also finishing second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting to Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt.
Parsons, who played linebacker and edge rusher for the Cowboys after being picked 12th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Penn State, was a star from the outset. He set a Cowboys rookie record, and led all NFL rookies with 13 sacks.
His 13 sacks tied for the third-most by an NFL rookie since the stat became official in 1982. He became only the second rookie since 1999 to post 13 sacks and 20 tackles for loss, joining the Indianapolis Colts’ Dwight Freeney (2002).
Thursday night capped a brilliant rookie season in which Parsons was named first team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl.
Also honored Thursday was defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who was named AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year after transforming the Cowboys’ defense from one of the worst in the NFL in 2020 to the backbone of an NFC East title team.
The Quinn-led Cowboys defense led the NFL in turnovers, was seventh in the NFL in scoring and second in third-down efficiency.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 9:21 PM.
