How Micah Parsons has motivated and re-energized Dallas Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence
The dreads are gone.
His face toned.
His body trimmed.
Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is ready to dominate again.
Yes, he has matured heading into his 10th season.
And he is finally healthy for the first time in years.
But Lawrence is also motivated by embarrassment.
Call it the Micah Parsons effect.
“Become the sack leader again,” said Lawrence when asked about his goals for 2022. “I let a rookie show me up last year. Shout out to my boy Micah. But restate my dominance. Let everybody know that I’m coming, how I feel, and the type of respect I’m going to demand when I step on that field.”
When Parsons took the NFL by storm in 2021 — earning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and finishing second to T.J. Watt for NFL Defensive of Player of the Year — he also surpassed Lawrence as the team’s most feared and dominant defensive player. He led the Cowboys in sacks (13), quarterback hits (30), pressures (47), quarterback knock downs (17) and tackles for losses (20).
It was a status that Lawrence has long held, even though his numbers have steadily declined since he notched 25 sacks in 2017 and 2018 combined.
Lawrence recorded sacks totals of 5, 6.5 and 3 over the past three seasons.
He remained a strong all around player and force in the running game.
In the past five seasons, Lawrence has the NFL’s fifth-best pass rush win rate (24.9%), the fifth-best pressure rate (11.7%) and is seventh in pressures (206).
But it wasn’t what he nor the Cowboys expected when he became the highest paid defensive player in franchise history in 2019 with a five-year, $105 million contract with $65 million guaranteed.
And after being limited to seven games in 2021 due to foot surgery following the season opener, he recorded just three sacks, five pass deflections, an interception, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles on the season. He also registered just 18 tackles.
It was no surprise that the Cowboys asked him to take a pay cut in the offseason.
With his future in doubt because of a $27 million cap figure for 2022, Lawrence came to terms with the Cowboys on a new three-year, $40 million deal, including $30 million guaranteed to allow him to finish his career in Dallas.
It was a win-win as the Cowboys got cap relief and Lawrence became the first defensive end in NFL history to have his contract guaranteed for seven straight seasons.
And then he went to work on his game, his body and his hairstyle.
Lawrence cut the dreadlocks which he had been growing since his rookie season in 2014.
“Yeah, I had my fun with my dreads,” Lawrence said. “It was a growing stage that I was going through. I started growing them when I entered the NFL and they grew so fast on me they got heavy. So this year, I turned 30 this year so I’m like, it’s time for me to make a grown-man change. And I chopped them off.”
The chopping off of the dreads symbolizes a new phase his career.
It’s one where he is decidedly healthier than in past years.
Lawrence has faced every offseason rehabbing from a surgery or injury since before he signed the big contract in 2019.
But this year has been different. He has been healthy for the entire offseason. He is simply working out rather than rehabbing and recovering.
And he looks the part, trim and great shape.
“Yeah I feel like I’m in better shape,” Lawrence said. “I feel like this offseason has been one of the most serious ones for me, just all about really just being healthy and taking care of the body and doing rigorous training and stuff and different workouts.
“Yeah, I think the last five offseasons I’ve been recovering. This is my first one actually I’m having. And it’s been going good.”
And he is ready to restate his dominance.
He is excited for a second season with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and to pair with Parsons to make the Cowboys defense great again.
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 12:04 PM.
