Micah Parsons is not looking forward to having to sack Dak Prescott.
The Green Bay Packers pass rusher will make his return to Dallas on Sunday night to take on his former team for the first time since the Cowboys traded him away last month. That deal came after a tumultuous stretch of failed contract negotiations and a trade request.
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The matchup will lead to the opportunity for Parsons to sack the Cowboys quarterback, his former teammate and friend. That’s not something he really wants to do.
“It’s going to be painful,” Parsons said about getting the chance to sack Prescott, via The Associated Press. “That’s my guy. He was always like a good mentor for me. But you know how it is, he always told me if I ever faced him that it’ll be a great matchup, so I’m excited to see what Sunday brings itself.”
Parsons dominated in Dallas while he was there. He was named to the Pro Bowl in all four seasons he spent in a Cowboys uniform while racking up at least 12 sacks a season. Parsons quickly became one of the best pass rushers in the league — which is what led to his issue with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones over a potential contract extension.
Parsons was dealt to Green Bay ahead of Week 1 of the season. He has 1.5 sacks and three solo tackles so far this season with the Packers while helping them to a 2-1 start. The Packers signed him to a four-year, $188 million deal. That made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
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Though Sunday night marks his first trip back to Dallas since the trade went down, Jones isn’t going to honor him in any way. After all, it’s not like longtime running back Emmitt Smith’s return to Dallas after 13 seasons and three Super Bowl wins, he said.
“I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Jones said when asked if they would recognize Parsons’ return on Sunday. “Emmitt [Smith] was a different story. But that’s not to diminish Micah. I think Micah’s got enough welcome out there. We just need to show we’ve got antidotes for that.”
Though it’s sure to be an emotional return for Parsons when the moment finally comes, and there are likely plenty of Cowboys fans who are still upset with how his departure went down, Parsons isn’t trying to think about that too much.
The contest, he said, is just business as usual.
“I accepted my fate weeks ago when the trade happened,” Parsons said. “So for me, it’s just all about playing another game and just doing what I do best, and that’s just be a disruptive football player. I think the media and the fans are trying to blow it up to be such a big thing. But I just look at it as just another game at AT&T.”