FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons is looking forward to Sunday’s season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as he begins Year 2 of his NFL career as well as his quest to become the best player in the league.
Parsons is also looking forward to his second matchup against ageless Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion who was recently voted as the league’s best player heading into the 2022 season.
Parsons, who was ranked 16th on the same list of the NFL’s Top 100 Players after a breakout rookie season when he was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting, remains in awe of Brady and his continued dominance at the age of 45.
Brady was drafted by the Patriots in 2000 one year after Micah Parsons, 23, was born in 1999.
“We got to get him out of this league. He’s been dominating this league too long. He keeps coming back,” Parsons said. “Just going through what he’s been able to do over these last couple years. I think everyone in the league can see it, and we voted him to be the No. 1 player. It’s a blessing to still be able to play him.”
Parsons credited Brady’s work ethic for his ability to play this long and continue to compete at a high level.
But he says it’s not just about durability. Brady has a killer mentality and competitive fire that Parsons compared to some all-time greats across the sports world, including Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson.
That’s why he admires Brady and is inspired by him.
“He has that fire inside of him. He looks to kill you,” Parsons said. “He wants to step on your throat like you’re a roach. And that’s what you look for in competitors. I think that’s why, if you’re a real competitor, you look up to like Tom Brady. You look up to Kobe, that Mamba mentality. You look up to Michael Jordan. You love those types of mentalities. People love Mike Tyson because of how fierce he was.
“You look up to that because you aspire to be that fierce or be that strong. He inspires me.”
Parsons even compared Brady to a superhero but said he has no superman-like Kryptonite as a weakness. And if he does, it doesn’t keep him down for long.
“I really haven’t seen it since I’ve been alive,” Parsons said. “He’s been pretty dominant. At the end of the day, just like any superhero, they have challenges. And they’ve got to get through them. Whether they lose on that day, or they lose a fight, I’ve seen Hawk get beat up. I’ve seen Thor get beat up. I’ve seen Captain America get beat up. I mean, every superhero gets beat up. But one thing they always do is get back up and they find a way to get to their destination.
“Tom may have a Kryptonite, he may not. But he definitely gets beat up, but he gets back up. I think a lot of people in this league are superheroes because as long as you get back up and keep going during the fight, you’re a superhero.”
But Parsons has no plans of playing in the NFL as long as Brady. He said the position he plays would not allow him to do it.
“No I do not. No I do not,” Parsons said. “I want to have my toes on the beach somewhere at 45. Going back to watch my son’s football games. That’s what I aspire at 45. So we’ve definitely got different passions in that aspect. I’ll probably get a hit little bit more than he does, too. I don’t think I could last to 45.”
Time will tell. Parsons is just beginning Year 2.
