FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys open the NFL regular season in just over two weeks against the Philadelphia Eagles.
One of the biggest questions looming over that game has been whether or not All-Pro Micah Parsons, who has been in a months-long contract extension dispute with the team, will be on the field and play.
Despite not being a participant in any of the team’s training camp practices, Brian Schottenheimer believes that Parsons will be out there on September 4.
“I think at the end of the day, we feel like Micah is going to be out there when we go line up against Philadelphia in 15 days.” Schottenheimer said.
Playing in an NFL game after not practicing for an extended period of time is no easy transition. Still, Schottenheimer thinks that Parsons has been doing all the right things over the course of the offseason to be prepared when the time comes.
“He takes great care of his body, again, you’d like it sooner rather than later, but Micah is going to be prepared,” Schottenheimer said. “I go back to the thing with each situation is different.”
“Micah knows his body as well as anybody, and the best thing of him being here is that he has been able to do some of the walk throughs, he has been able to be in the meetings, he understands some of the different calls and the different packages and stuff that we’re gonna use, and that’s a huge advantage.”
Most of the training that the media has seen Parsons do is conditioning work, typically wearing a sauna suit that helps him burn more calories and tone the body in workouts.
With how physical of a game football is however, Schottenheimer knows that cardio isn’t the only thing you can do if you’re not practicing, and feels Parsons and the team are taking the right measure to avoid a potential soft tissue injury.
“At the end of the day, you have to do change of direction, you have to do things, it’s not just getting on a treadmill. There has to be change of direction and things like that,” Schottenheimer said.”
“Certainly injuries are a part of the game, and again I have complete faith in our strength staff, our trainers and all that stuff that they’re doing the things that they need to do for him to go out and perform well, and Micah is obviously a pretty good football player. One thing he has not lost the ability to do is rush the passer and make plays.”
The Cowboys definitely hope that Parsons, who requested a trade from the team on August 1, will continue to rush the passer at an All-Pro level like he has over the first four years of his career.
The question is whether or not he’ll take the field with a new contract or not.
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