A high ankle sprain is threatening Micah Parsons' availability for Week 5's prime-time matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Cowboys' star pass rusher is coming to terms with the possibility of missing his first career game due to injury.
"It's just frustrating, for real," Parsons said on Monday, via the team's official website. "You put a lot of energy into getting ready and being there for the team, so being out, this hurts me because I'm letting people down. I'm just letting people down. I figured myself invincible for a while.
"It's humbling. It's part of the test that I was talking about. It's faith. Gotta come back strong."
Parsons, who is considered week to week, suffered the injury during last Thursday's road win over the New York Giants. The two-time All-Pro initially tried to play through the ankle sprain after exiting in the second quarter, but was ruled out after playing his final snap in the final frame.
Dallas has yet to officially rule out Parsons for Sunday night, but there's a good chance he'll be unable to suit up. His only missed game came during his rookie season due to COVID.
"It's just going to come down to how I'm attacking this and getting right with [head trainer Jim Maurer], and getting ahead of this so that way I can get back as fast as possible," Parsons said. "I'm just trying to get back as fast as possible, but I don't want it to linger."
Parsons is the main focal point of any opposing offense, and has been since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2021. The Cowboys defense has gotten off to a rough start to the 2024 campaign, ranking T-27th in points allowed (26.0) and 26th in yards allowed per game (355.3). Parsons' pass-rushing numbers this season -- one sack on 12 pressures -- have also seen a dip through four games compared to his usual standard.
Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence will miss multiple weeks after suffering a foot injury during last week's win, head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Monday. Lawrence leads the Cowboys with three sacks in 2024.
Without two of their top defenders, Dallas (2-2) will hope to earn its first win streak of the season comes in Sunday night's road matchup in Pittsburgh (3-1), a team looking to avoid a losing streak following its first loss.
Parsons is hoping his teammates can hold the fort until he's able to return fully healthy.
"It's time to man up," said Parsons. "We talk about next man up mentality? It's time."
