Micah Parsons now has Jalen Hurts in his sights, and the list goes on from there.
The Dallas Cowboys' dynamic rookie linebacker was switched to defensive end to cover for the club's short-handed defensive line in Week 2, and responded with a sack of Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert for a loss of 18. He's apparently got a taste for quarterbacks now, because Parsons said Wednesday that he's now looking to sack every passer on the Cowboys schedule -- starting with Hurts this week, when Dallas takes on the Philadelphia Eagles in Dallas' first NFC East game Monday night.
"Every quarterback (we face this season) is on the hit list. I want all of them," Parsons said, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota. "(Jalen) Hurts is on the hit list now, too. You got to look at it like you're trying to be like The Terminator out there."
It sounds something like a throwback to former Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco's famous 2005 list, which he headed "Who Covered 85 in '05" and checked off cornerbacks on a weekly basis who could not stay with him in what was his first All-Pro season. The difference? Ochocinco's list was written in plain sight and amounted to something of an ongoing guarantee, while Parsons' list is, as far as we know, unwritten, and more of a goal than a promise.
Still, it's a bold and confident remark coming from a rookie, albeit one of the top prospects in the 2021 draft and one who has been a rousing early success.
Parsons was outstanding at linebacker in the preseason and in Dallas' opener with seven tackles against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But with pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence sustaining a broken foot, compounded by Randy Gregory's trip to the reserve/COVID-19 list, Parsons was pressed into action at defensive end against the Chargers. He sees no reason to be eased into the role.
"When you've got a wild bull, you don't just let him pace, you let him run," Parsons added, via ESPN’s Todd Archer. "... If I'm tired, I'll tell them I'm tired. I'm out there, I just want to play."
It remains to be seen if he stays at defensive end upon Lawrence and/or Gregory's return, but for now, he's counting quarterbacks -- and he's already checked box No. 1.
