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What Jerry, Stephen Jones said about Micah Parsons’ interest in completing new deal early – SportsDay Staff, Dallas Morning News
The bosses were pleased with what the All-Pro said.
Jerry and Stephen Jones liked what they heard this week as Micah Parsons discussed his playing future.
The Cowboys pass rusher told reporters Thursday that he’s interested in completing a new deal sooner rather than later. According to Parsons, he would like to help the team “attack free agency” in 2025.
Jerry Jones seemed to approve of Parsons’ thinking, calling the bounds of Parsons’ intellect limitless Friday.
“I’ve had his coaches call him brilliant and that manifests other than the physical brilliance that’s there,” the Cowboys owner told 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM). “So, he gets it. Really does understand what we’re trying to do here and what we’re trying to put together.”
Parsons’ future came up early in the week after an NFL Network report questioned whether the team would trade its do-it-all defender. Jerry Jones quickly shut down any notion of a Parsons trade, calling the scenario “ridiculous” Friday.
Stephen Jones later told The Fan that Dallas’ front office is on the same page as Parsons.
“If you get ahead of them, you want to get ahead of them,” Stephen Jones said. “Hat’s off to Micah and I’ve seen, like you guys have, some of the comments that he’s made. He’s certainly had conversations with Jerry and I, and that’s what we want. We want guys who want to be here.”
Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs expected to undergo bone graft surgery in knee – David Moore, Dallas Morning News
The severity of the injury to Trevon Diggs is now known.
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is expected to undergo bone graft surgery to repair his injured left knee, two people with knowledge of the injury told The Dallas Morning News.
No date for the procedure has been set. But the injury, as chief operating officer Stephen Jones has stated publicly, is significant and the timeframe of his rehabilitation will bump up against the start of next season.
The Pro Bowl corner suffered articular damage to the knee coming out of the team’s loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 9. The damage is severe enough that a bone graft, while taking longer for the player to recover than other options, appears to be the best course to stimulate growth and strengthen the area. This is where a new piece of bone is inserted into the damaged area in the same way a pothole is repaired or a gap in a joint is caulked.
Stargazing: Cowboys to watch against the Buccaneers – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
Dallas needs these players to step up in Week 16.
Rico Dowdle, RB
The hat trick achievement has been unlocked by Dowdle. His 100-yard outing against the Panthers marked the third in a row for the veteran running back and the first for the organization since Ezekiel Elliott did it in 2019. And as he enters Week 16 against the Buccaneers, he does so with the once unthinkable in reach: Dowdle needs just 120 rushing yards to hit the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. The Bucs’ defense has allowed an average of 4.5 yards per carry this season and given up nine run plays of more than 20 yards, and three of more than 40 yards, so you might want to keep an eye on Dowdle in this one.
Micah Parsons, EDGE
Yeah, admit it. This is a safe place. You didn’t believe Parsons would claw his way to a 10-sack season when factoring in how many games he missed due to the high ankle sprain and, overall, how the Cowboys’ defense was struggling to rush the passer before he was injured. I thought the same, and yet here we are with Parsons needing only 1.5 sacks to hit that mark for the fourth consecutive season; and his smile tells you he’s ready to hit everybody with the “I told you so” once he does. Baker Mayfield better keep his head on a swivel, because the Lion is hunting.
Why Cowboys should resist inclination to bring back Mike McCarthy for a sixth season in Dallas – Jared Dubin, CBS Sports
It might behoove the Cowboys to not jump the gun on bringing Mike McCarthy back.
Given that McCarthy is a play-calling offensive head coach, his major selling point should be an ability to get more than expected out of the talent on hand. For the most part, he hasn’t done that — and especially not in big games. The offense has disappointed in a major way in crucial moments, including earlier this season in losses to the Ravens, Lions, 49ers and Falcons, prior to Prescott’s season-ending injury. And that’s before we get to the three playoff losses to the 49ers and Packers, which were characterized by tremendous offensive failings. (The pre-garbage time offensive ineptitude in last year’s loss to Green Bay was overshadowed by the abominable defensive performance.)
Before taking over play-calling himself, McCarthy was a CEO-style head coach, which meant that his main responsibilities were in preparation, overall philosophy and game management. Given the aforementioned issues in big games, which often came complete with incredibly slow starts on both sides of the ball that the Cowboys then had to overcome, it’s hard to say that he was giving the team a leg up in the preparation department. The fast-paced, pass-heavy philosophy they had during the first three years of his tenure was seemingly more a function of Moore than McCarthy, considering the changes McCarthy made once he fully took over. So it’s tough to give him credit for that, either. And on the game management front, McCarthy has been a negative going back to his time in Green Bay. Fourth-down decision-making, timeout usage, pre-snap penalties … all of those have been consistent issues since he took over in Dallas.
It’s not like any of this should have come as a surprise, either. All of these problems were evident at the tail end of his tenure with the Packers — especially the stagnant offensive system and the game management. But a year away from the league and a public relations tour that he admitted in his introductory press conference was essentially a sham, led to a rehabilitation of his reputation. Or enough of one for Jerry Jones to turn in his direction, anyway. And make no mistake, they were going to hire him no matter what. The Cowboys conducted exactly two “interviews” during their “search” to replace Garrett: One with McCarthy, and one with Marvin Lewis, to satisfy the Rooney Rule. They had zero intention of turning anywhere else.
Cowboys injury report: Micah Parsons (illness) listed as questionable vs Buccaneers – LP Cruz, Blogging The Boys
Dallas continues to fight through an injury plagued season.
Final #TBvsDAL practice report:#DallasCowboys:
– Jalen Brooks is OUT
– Eric Kendricks, Jourdan Lewis, Micah Parsons all QUESTIONABLE pic.twitter.com/zGqIRFhT1Q— Tommy Yarrish (@tommy_yarrish) December 20, 2024
To win, the Cowboys must lean on the running game and CeeDee Lamb. Luckily for Dallas Lamb (shoulder), Rico Dowdle (knee), Cooper Beebe (concussion), and Tyler Smith (ankle) practiced in a full capacity on Friday. All have been removed from the injury report, carry no injury designation heading into Sunday night’s game, and have a relatively clean bill of health. Chuma Edoga (ankle) and Mazi Smith (back) were also upgraded to full participants Friday have no injury designation as well.
Micah Parsons was added to the report with an illness and did not practice Friday. He is questionable. T.J. Bass (thigh) was downgraded to a DNP today, leaving his status for Sunday ambiguous. He has been ruled as questionable. Linebackers Eric Kendricks (NIR-Rest, calf) and Nick Vigil (foot) did practice but in limited fashion. they are still listed as questionable. Jalen Brooks has been ruled out with a knee injury.