Star edge rusher Micah Parsons has been itching at the opportunity to be the preeminent leader of the Dallas Cowboys.
Cowboys' legend Zack Martin announced his retirement early in the offseason. Then another decade-long veteran in DeMarcus Lawrence departed for the Seattle Seahawks in free agency - not without a few parting blows to Parsons via X/Twitter.
Just before that viral implosion, Parsons sent out a post in response to the new roster makeup.
"It's my time," he wrote.
Cryptic? Yes. But as our own Mike Fisher puts it ... that's just how athletes' tweet nowadays.
Fans went into a frenzy about what Micah's sentiment could mean, but we knew from the jump that it referred to him announcing his new leadership role in the Cowboys' locker room.
Now his first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer is challenging him to officially make that leap heading into 2025.
“This is an opportunity for Micah, especially, with some of the guys that we lost as leadership for Micah to step up. He's excited about that. He wants to have more leadership responsibility," Schotty said.
Cowboys' fans are no stranger to watching Parsons be the on-field leader of the Dallas defense by wreaking havoc on the line.
But him turning into one of the longest-tenured defenders seemingly overnight has opens the gates for Parsons to immerge as a vocal and spiritual leader off the field, too.
If you follow Micah - or the "Lion-Backer" as we call him - on social media, you will know he's comfortable letting his voice be heard.
We know he's ready for the challenge.
Schottenheimer and Cowboys' star receiver CeeDee Lamb have expressed multiple times how they want Parsons to wear The Star for many years to come.
We believe, in extensive coverage of his contract extension saga, that Parsons wants the same thing.
Schotty, like many, is still holding out optimism that Parsons will get his deserving deal.
"Micah has said all along that he plans on being there. Again, it's a business, right? There's a lot of factors that go into a deal," Schottenheimer said to NFL Network at this week's League Meeting in Florida.
"So, again, we have a ton of time, and we'll take it day-by-day. Again, my conversations with Micah have been great and I think he's in a good spot. It's business, as he understands."
A "ton of time" wouldn't necessarily be the most ideal way to approach this ... given how COO Stephen Jones expressed his regret about getting Dak Prescott's deal done so late last offseason.
Nonetheless, there is still time left in the offseason. But the clock is ticking, and Cowboys Nation is growing impatient.
Concluding the on-going negotiations with Jerry Jones' Cowboys is the last step in cementing Micah's place atop the food chain.
