Micah Parsons has been one of the best defensive players in the NFL essentially since entering the league in 2021. The star passer has been an All-Pro in each of his first three seasons, and his impact may soon be over. extend beyond the defensive side of the ball to special teams? Probably not, but we can dream, right?
While talking about the upcoming 2024 kickoff changes, Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel told the Ross Tucker Football Podcast that he would love to — even though he knew full well it’s very unlikely – see Parsons return to kick.
“You know Micah. So he’s pressured me in the past to just be the primary kickoff returner,” Fassel told Tucker, via NFL.com. “I’m like, Micah, that’s the question you have to ask a little higher than me on this one. But would I love to see him back there? Absolutely, because he would be fantastic. He would catch it and he’d go wild and he’d probably gain incredible yards. But that’s not going to happen.
Given the importance of Parsons, who has played only 15 games on special teams in his career, to Dallas’ defense, the Cowboys wisely will not put him in danger by allowing him to return kicks . That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t thrive on special teams, though. Fassel added that he saw Parsons back when the Pro Bowler was still at Penn State.
“I remember watching Micah during kickoff coverage at Penn State when I was a freshman because I was rooting for Nick Scott, a player we drafted for the Rams,” said Fassel. “Then I was also watching Cam Brown, but ‘Who’s that guy on kickoff’ when [Parsons] was a freshman. Next thing you know, you’re looking for him, I don’t know who he is, but he’ll probably be okay one day. But Micah asked to be a primary kickoff returner, that hasn’t been allowed yet, and probably won’t be unless you say, “Hey, you know, in the game we’re down by six and there are eight seconds left. game and we have to score a touchdown and return a kick to win it? “Maybe we’d put Micah back there as a second player. »
While it would be fascinating to see Parsons in this role, it’s not really a big need for the Cowboys. Dallas has returning Pro Bowler KaVontae Turpin on the roster, who is one of the league’s best in that role.