When the Cowboys take the field on Sunday night against the 49ers, it will be more than a month since star pass rusher Micah Parsons has been active. Parsons went down with an ankle injury in the Week 4 win over the Giants, but has not played since as he attempts to rest the injury.
The Cowboys have been terrible for the bulk of the 2024 season, yet the team enters the week at 3-3 and with a chance to bounce back with a post-bye surge. But that can only happen if the roster gets healthy, and that starts with Parsons, arguably Dallas's best player.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, coach Mike McCarthy said that while Parsons has not been ruled out for Sunday, he is not yet a full participant, either, and is not "over that threshold," to return to play.
From beat reporter Jon Machota of The Athletic, McCarthy said, “Micah is improving. He'll be part of the rehab group today. We don't have him set for reps.”
When asked what he needed to see from Parsons, McCarthy said, "Well, there's always a threshold of return to play. He's not over that threshold yet. Until he can get out there and cut it loose, I think when you have veteran players, the general is if they don't practice on Saturday they're not going to play in the game. If you're looking for a finish line, it would be full participant player in Saturday's practice.
“Obviously you'd like to have him go in pads first on Thursday, but Micah has played a lot of football for us. He has a high understanding of our defense. That's kind of a general approach that I've always taken.”
The 25-year-old Parsons had never missed a game before this season, and had been a Pro Bowler and Defensive Player of the Year candidate in each of his first three NFL seasons. This year, though, poor play and injuries have limited him.
Parsons averaged 13.5 sacks per season in his first three years, but has just one sack, now nearly halfway through 2024.
