Micah Parsons’s absence from the opening of the Cowboys’ offseason workouts comes with an important caveat that differentiates his lack of attendance from that of teammate CeeDee Lamb.
According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, a “person close to” Parsons has explained that the 24-year-old is simply training on his own rather than participate in the voluntary workouts that began at The Star on Monday.
That matches what Parsons did last offseason, too. Fans will recall he spent the early part of spring 2023 following a customized regimen at The Kollective in Austin, Tex. at the hands of acclaimed professional trainer Mo Wells. Strength and conditioning, speed and agility, position-specific drills, range-of-motion exercises, yoga, stretching, nutrition: Parsons and Wells worked on all of it in an intense effort to add bulk to the defender’s frame and fine-tune his physique in preparation for more snaps and more time rushing opposing passers.
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Videos circulated online showing Parsons doing drills and racing fellow NFL stars like Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and newly-drafted Cowboys teammate Deuce Vaughn. Even after his return to the team for OTAs, Parsons incorporated boxing and other sports into his routines.
The result was a 64-tackle, 14-sack season that earned him his third Pro Bowl nod, second-team All-Pro honors, and a third-place finish for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Parsons may not be training with the team, but suffice it to say he’s more than likely putting in the work required to get himself ready for the season, and probably pushing harder than if he were in Frisco with everyone else.
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His spending April away from the Cowboys facility is not the same as Lamb’s absence, which can be directly chalked up to the lack of a new contract extension.
Entering his fourth pro season, Parsons is eligible for a new deal. He’s scheduled to make $2.99 million in 2024 and would see that increase to $21.32 million if he ends up playing 2025 on the fifth-year option that the Cowboys have indicated they’ll pick up.
But none of that appears to be why Parsons isn’t at The Star this week.
The Lion is simply doing his own thing before re-joining the pack.
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