Why Cowboys’ Micah Parsons still has confidence ahead of return despite QB Dak Prescott’s injury
When Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons was injured with a high ankle sprain against the New York Giants on Sept. 26 in Week 4, it was expected that he would miss at least two games and return following the Week 7 bye.
However, five weeks later, Parsons is just now returning to the practice field after a healing process that he described as “more significant than I thought and the team thought” when it initially happened.
The healing process was tedious and resulted in him missing four contests.
“As soon as I got hurt, I was like, ‘Man I can come back against Detroit (Oct. 13), right?’ Obviously, everyone is different, the healing process was different,” Parsons said. “I thought I was known as a fast healer. Obviously, I didn’t want to go on IR but looking back I probably should [have].”
After a week of practice that will determine his availability and a.head of Sunday’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, Parsons is trending in the right direction toward returning in a full capacity.
“I feel like I’m starting all over,” he said. “Basically, it’s like I’m starting my season all over again so it’s just going to be an interesting week.”
“You don’t want to go out there being limited. People might see that and try to attack that like, ‘He’s trying to brace for his leg or he’s limping.’ You just don’t want to be the person that’s holding the team back.”
Parsons will enter an even more disastrous situation than when he left the field five weeks ago. His co-pass rusher in DeMarcus Lawrence is still rehabbing a foot injury, wide receiver Brandin Cooks is not yet ready to return from a knee issue, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is playing through a sprain AC joint and now quarterback Dak Prescott is expected to land on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury on Sunday.
And the team owns a 3-5 record, trailing Washington (7-2) and Philadelphia (6-2) in the NFC East.
Even with the obstacles in front of him and his fellow teammates, he still sees a path to winning without the leader of the team in Dak Prescott as proven backup quarterback Cooper Rush enters the fold with a 5-1 career record.
“I’ve been here before without Dak Prescott,” he said. “I’ve been here…I still believe we can make a run. I’ve seen what Cooper Rush can do…He won games for us by just doing the basics, just playing good football. So it’s not like he can’t do it. I got full faith in him.”
After a stretch that saw the Cowboys go 1-3 without Parsons in the fold including two one-possession losses, the three-time All-Pro sees an opportunity to close the gap with his presence on the field both physically and vocally.
“Obviously, it’s tough just because I feel like I can make an impact in those games,” he said. “I think there’s games where we’re losing by six points and I definitely believe I could make a difference in those games. Six-point game, you’re telling me that me and D-Law can’t make a difference? An extra stop in one point of those games? It’s hard for me to believe we can’t. So my goal is if I’m up this week, to go out there and prove that.”
