Micah Parsons wants Cowboys to make grievous mistake in free agency

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) celebrates his sack against the Arizona Cardinals at
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) celebrates his sack against the Arizona Cardinals at / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY
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Micah Parsons wants to win a Super Bowl. Making it to the NFC Championship Game would be a good start, but Parsons recognized after the wild card loss in January that the Dallas Cowboys needs more talent at certain positions if they want to achieve their ultimate goal.

Appearing on the Stephen A. Smith show last week, Parsons aired his grievances with the Cowboys' roster to owner Jerry Jones at the Super Bowl.

Parsons told Jones straight-up what Dallas needs to improve on the defensive side of the ball: a big-bodied linebacker that can get downhill and a 330-pound defensive tackle that can consume double teams and disrupt the running game.

Virtually all Cowboys fans can get on board with those moves. Where Parsons might have lost some folks is when he discussed the offensive side of the ball. The All-Pro defender wants Dallas to bring back running back Tony Pollard.

Micah Parsons wants the Cowboys to bring back Tony Pollard

"I would say toward the end of the season Tony Pollard was catching his rhythm again. I do think he's an every-down guy. You've got to think, he broke his fibula, tibia, something, that's a catastrophic injury. You're talking about a guy that's really been off from that January, came back Week 1 but he didn't really do a lot. It takes a while to get back into football. He didn't do OTAs. He didn't do minicamp. He kind of did camp a little bit like working through it, getting back into it. You saw him increase, like he even said, 'I'm just now getting back to myself.' I would give Tony Pollard another shot.""

We can't fault Parsons for backing his teammate, but re-signing Pollard wouldn't be smart business given the RB talent available in free agency. Some fans want the Cowboys to pursue proven stars like Derrick Henry or Saquon Barkley, but there are lesser names that could get the job done for a fraction of the cost, including D'Andre Swift and Devin Singletary.

They could also sign a power back like Gus Edwards, A.J. Dillon or D'Onta Foreman for the vet minimum and pair them with a potential draft pick. The world is quite literally the Cowboys oyster when it comes to upgrading the RB position.

That isn't to say we wouldn't welcome Pollard back with open arms (at the right price), but Parsons' analysis is misguided. Of course he wants Pollard back. The only way that should happen, though, is if Dallas brings in a bruising RB to do the dirty work in short-yardage situations.

We fully acknowledge that it took Pollard a while post-surgery to get back up to speed, but giving him "another shot" at the full-time role would be a grievous mistake given his underwhelming 2023 and potential price tag.

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