Micah Parsons Wants a Pet Lion (and A Cowboys Super Bowl)

Micah Parsons and his ambitious Dallas Cowboys are back in Frisco after a training camp that fits his vision in terms of "starting from ground zero.''

FRISCO - Micah Parsons recently talked of 2023 for the Dallas Cowboys by saying, "This has got to be the year'' for a Super Bowl title. But he's also keenly aware of something else as the third-year superstar leads his team into the start of the NFL regular season.

As Parsons said recently, “We all know how each other plays, we know how to communicate with each other. (But) it's just like in a relationship: You start from ground zero.''

"Ground zero'' was the practice fields in Oxnard. Let the relationships build from there. ... with Micah as the hub of a championship-contending wheel.

He's focused on that ... while at the same time retaining his hunger for comedic attention, witness his newest social media mention.

Parsons just posted, apropos of nothing (except for the fact that he's the "Lion-backer''): "I think I want a pet lion?!" 

That would be a statement. But here is a better idea from the Dallas Cowboys pass-rusher: He is in a sense looking to keep his quarterback takedowns in moderation this season after earning 26.5 in his first two NFL outings. Fans of "America's Team'' can rest assured that Parsons intends to continue residing in the nightmares of opposing playmakers, albeit in a way that channels Los Angeles Rams defender Aaron Donald.

"I'm kind of off the 'sack wave.' I'm onto the 'impact wave," Parsons declared during the offseason. "You see Aaron Donald. He can have 12 sacks, but the impact he makes is so dominant. You can tell. I really just want to be dominant.''

To Parsons' point, Donald has acquired a historic sack total at 103, including a league-best 20.5 during the 2018 season. But in a nine-year career with the Rams, Donald has ranked among the NFL's sack leaders on only five occasions, leading Los Angeles and the league in several other stat categories of both the traditional and advanced nature. Donald, in other words, is about much more than sacks.

Parsons has expressed a desire to play "eight different positions" for the Cowboys moving forward, going far beyond the mere "linebacker" often attached to his name. And we'll be watching for the unveiling of such a thing in the team's work here in Frisco and then in Game 1 at New York. ... because all of this really is a "Ground Zero'' thing. Still, Micah's expressed confidence resonates.

“You just feel it in the room,” Parsons said recently. “Everybody’s like, ‘This has got to be the year.'''

For a Super Bowl, that is. Not for a pet lion.

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