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Todd Archer
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said he will meet with Micah Parsons on Sunday to discuss the edge rusher’s behavior during Friday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Early in the third quarter, Parsons — who again did not play as he seeks a contract extension — was lying on a medical table behind the Cowboys’ bench as the offense drove down the field. He was also the only player not to wear a jersey during the game.
Schottenheimer said the team will handle a decision about Parsons’ future internally.
“Without talking to Micah, I need to figure out what he was doing and why he was doing it,” Schottenheimer said on a conference call Saturday. “So, until I talk to him, I’m obviously not going to talk about it.”
Parsons had an MRI on his back Friday, and Schottenheimer said it came back “pretty clean.” Parsons first talked about back tightness at the minicamp in June. However, in training camp, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones seemed to dismiss the severity of the issue, calling it part of the negotiation for a contract extension, similar to Parsons’ trade request.
Schottenheimer has been confident that Parsons will be available for the Sept. 4 opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the team will account for his uncertain status when putting together its 53-man roster.
“I think [defensive end] is an area that we’re pretty deep,” Schottenheimer said.
Schottenheimer also said he expects cornerback Trevon Diggs to be activated off the physically unable to perform list and be on the 53-man roster to start the season. If Diggs, who is coming back from surgery in January on his left knee, opened the year on PUP, he would have to miss at least the first four games.
“These things don’t happen if he’s not putting in the time and the effort to do that stuff that he’s been doing,” Schottenheimer said. “Really proud of him.”
Diggs did not rule out playing Week 1 against the Eagles, but he said the decision to play will be a mutual one. Schottenheimer mentioned a possible “pitch count” if Diggs were available.
“Anytime you’ve got guys who have missed some time, there’s a ramp-up, there’s a buildup period,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got some time [to] see how his conditioning is, see how he moves around as we get going in practices, hopefully this week.”
Left tackle Tyler Guyton could also get practice time this week. He suffered a broken bone in his knee July 28 during a practice and was given a four-to-six-week recovery period.
“We’ll find out a little more [Sunday],” Schottenheimer said. “He’ll be a bit like with Trevon, trending in the right direction. Hopefully, we’ll get him to do something out on the grass as early as this week.”