The Dallas Cowboys have won three of their past four games and refuse to give up on a season that has seen them lose quarterback Dak Prescott to injury and go 6-8 through 14 contests.
Star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who also missed multiple games this season due to injury, is the personification of his team's attitude, which he made clear following Dallas's most recent victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Dec. 15.
“We are not gonna give up. As long as I am part of this unit, as long as we believe in each other, and I can look to my left and know I can count on them -- we fighting for each other," Parsons said.
Parsons sat out four games early in the year due to injury, which undoubtedly contributed to the team's step back this year after making the playoffs following each of the past three seasons.
Despite the time he missed, Parsons remains among the elite edge defenders in the NFL in 2024. Pro Football Focus ranks Parsons the 6th-best edge rusher in the league out of 116 players at the position who have seen enough snaps to qualify. Parsons has tallied 61 quarterback pressures, 39 hurries, 12 hits and 10 sacks in 11 games played this year, according to PFF.
Parsons is on the brink of contract negotiations, as he is in the final year of his rookie contract and will be an unrestricted free agent in March if Dallas doesn't sign him to an extension before then. As such, he has been the subject of trade rumors of late, even despite how well he has played throughout the first leg of his career.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday morning that Dallas is still pondering a potential trade of Parsons considering the team's planned strategic adjustments moving forward.
"I talked to Cowboys executive Stephen Jones earlier in this week ... and he told me that what they're going to do philosophically this offseason is rethink some things about how they put this team together -- specifically paying players at the top, top end of their position," Rapoport said. "Jones didn't exactly close the door to a trade, but it was interesting. He said, 'Obviously, we're all-in on [wide receiver] CeeDee [Lamb] and Dak. After that you shape things, including Micah."
