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Micah Parsons watched from the sideline on Friday as the Dallas Cowboys dominated the Atlanta Falcons in both teams’ preseason finale Saturday, but he still managed to make news.
Before kickoff, the star pass rusher was spotted eating nachos. At one point during the game, Parsons appeared to take a rest on the training table near the Cowboys bench while the Cowboys’ offense had possession of the ball.
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Micah Parsons #11 of the Dallas Cowboys lays on a training table during the second half of the NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium on August 22, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
The moves stirred controversy, which prompted a response from Parsons.
“I actually appreciate this. The way media shapes perception and narratives is wild—and if he hadn’t said anything, everyone would’ve just run with it,” Parsons said in response to a reporter saying the defensive end seemed to be on the table for “relatively short portion” of the preseason contest.
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The three-time All-Pro added that he would “never disrespect the guys out there fighting for their lives.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said he wasn’t aware of Parsons’ in-game actions. The 26-year-old did not talk to the media after the Cowboys’ 31-13 victory.
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons walks onto the field after the team’s preseason NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Trevon Diggs did make a notable admission about his teammate.
“It depends on how his back feels. I know he was real sore this morning. He went and got it checked out. That’s the last thing I heard from him,” hinting the edge rusher had recently undergone an MRI.
Micah Parsons #11 of the Dallas Cowboys lays on a training table during the second half of the NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium on August 22, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
It all comes as Parsons and the Cowboys are entrenched in a contract standoff. Parsons recently made his trade request public. On Friday, longtime Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones doubled-down on his stance against trading Parsons, while also pointing to Parsons’ agent David Mulugheta.
“We were going to send [an offer] over to the agent and the agent said don’t bother because we’ve got all that to negotiate,” Jones told former Cowboys star Michael Irvin. “Well, I’d already negotiated. I’d already moved off my mark on several areas. And so, the issue is, frankly, that we already had the negotiation in my mind, and now the agent is trying to stick his nose in it.”
Agent David Mulugheta said that “never happened,” according to former Pittsburgh Steelers star and current ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark.
“This is just another public way to make this situation, which is already ugly, even uglier,” Clark said. “David Mulugheta in no way has ever told Jerry Jones or any other general manager or owner that. It’s all bull crap. It’s all lies.”
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Parsons missed four games last season but still finished the year with 12 sacks. He has recorded double-digit sacks in each of his four seasons in the NFL.
As it currently stands, Parsons will enter the 2025 regular season under the fifth and final option year of his rookie deal.
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