Cowboys news: Dak Prescott speaks on playing against Micah Parsons

FRISCO, Texas — Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys will face each other this weekend when the Green Bay Packers come to town for Sunday Night Football. Now that you’ve officially heard that headline 1,000,001 times, let’s get one more player’s perspective on it — namely Dak Prescott.

The former longtime teammates will, for the first time in their NFL careers, line up against each other in a regular season contest and that means Prescott won’t have the benefit of a red practice jersey to force Parsons into pulling his punches.

So when Parsons said this week that sacking Prescott “will be painful”, Prescott’s response was a rightfully awkward humor.

“I hope not for me,” he said with a laugh. “And I hope he doesn’t get to me for one.”

That’s the thing, though: Parsons will find himself getting the kitchen sink thrown at him by head coach Brian Schottenheimer and offensive coordinator Klayton Adams to try and slow him down and/or throw him off of his game entirely.

“I’m just excited to go and have that match up, but he’s got five guys up front, plus tight ends, and running backs that he’s got to get through,” said the All-Pro quarterback. “Then we’ll worry about if he can get to me. It takes all of us to protect, myself included. We all know that. Nothing changes this week.

“He’s a hell of a player. We respect that. And he’ll have some attention.”

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Nobody calls it the Kenny Clark trade.

The deal Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst struck on Aug. 28 will forever be remembered as the Micah Parsons trade, and rightfully so. Parsons is one of the best players of this generation and a future Hall of Famer if he continues on his current trajectory. Jones dealing Parsons to the Packers in his prime is one of the most seismic trades in league history.

But as the Packers embark on a trip to Dallas for Sunday Night Football this week and Parsons faces his former team in his former home stadium, it’s worth remembering that Clark was no slouch during his nine years in Green Bay.

The 29-year-old was the Packers’ longest-tenured player, the lone holdover from the Mike McCarthy era as a 2016 first-round pick. A three-time Pro Bowler in 2019, 2021 and 2023, Clark inked three separate contracts in Green Bay, a sign he’ll one day be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame on the first ballot. A dominant force on the interior of the defensive line for almost a decade, Clark may cause restless nights for the Packers this week, just like Parsons will for the Cowboys. Clark was a locker room cornerstone, too, held in high regard by those inside 1265 Lombardi Ave., whether players spent one year with him or six.

“I think there’s a reason he got a third contract because not many guys do,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said. “Obviously, you’ve got to play to a certain level, which he certainly has, but you also have to be a certain type of guy. I think Kenny’s a pro’s pro. I’ve got so much respect for him, as much as anybody that I’ve been around in this game in terms of his approach, his team-first mentality, his willingness to help others and bring guys along. He wasn’t always the most vocal, but when he talked, everybody listened and they listened for a reason because everybody respected what he did.”

After being left on the inactives list for the team’s first three outings, Cowboys fifth-round draft pick Jaydon Blue is still waiting to make his NFL regular-season debut.

But despite earlier concerns about the rookie’s work habits and consistency in practice (and an ankle injury suffered in his only preseason action just 12 days before Week 1) head coach Brian Schottenheimer says the talented running back’s gameday status has been about needs the Cowboys have had elsewhere on the field.

“In no way, shape, or form is Jaydon doing things that would not allow him to be activated,” Schottenheimer said Friday during his weekly radio call-in on 105.3 The Fan. “It’s been more of the fact that we’ve needed the numbers, with some of the injuries and stuff on defense and in the secondary and things like that.”

In Weeks 1 through 3, the Cowboys have dressed 24 defensive players for each game, as opposed to just 21 on offense.

“Unfortunately,” confirmed Schottenheimer, “we’ve been a little bit heavier on the defensive side when you look at the roster construction on gameday.”

FRISCO, Texas – As the Cowboys get ready to face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, they’ll get both DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs together on the field for just the fifth time in the last three years.

Bland has missed the Cowboys last two games with a foot injury, but was a full participant in Thursday and Friday’s practices. Diggs missed Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury, but was full-go as well on Thursday and Friday. Both hold no injury designation, officially clearing the path to full health. For Bland, he wants to be out there again not just with Diggs, but the entire defense.

“Really I’m just looking to get back out there, just playing for my guys,” Bland said. “Having us both out there healthy is something that I’m definitely always looking forward to.”

Dallas has given up 748 yards through the air in the last two weeks, and a lot of that has to do with communication issues in the secondary. The Cowboys are hoping that re-inserting Bland into the mix helps eliminate some, if not all, of those short comings.

FRISCO, Texas -- About six minutes into Brian Schottenheimer’s Friday news conference, there was a knock on the door. It was Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Roger Staubach.

“Oh, my goodness gracious,” Schottenheimer said after seeing Staubach and then shaking his hand. “I will stop what I’m doing for this.”

Staubach called Schottenheimer his favorite coach and said, “I thought maybe you could use me, but maybe not ... I can still throw.”

Replied Schottenheimer, “Hey, you always could. I never worry about your legs [either], right?”

Staubach, 83, won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys in the 1970s. He earned the nickname Captain Comeback, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

“I’m pulling for you,” Staubach said, adding, “I still love the Cowboys ... It’s amazing how when I sit down and start watching the game, I feel like I’m out there.”