As the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened its doors to the 2023 class, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons aims to establish himself as one of the game's all-time greats.
"When you talk about great careers, (when) you talk about the Hall of Fame, like I don't think I just want to make the Hall of Fame. I just want to be known as one of the greatest Hall of Famers," Parsons told ESPN’s Todd Archer on Saturday. "There's categories to everything. There's good. There's great and there's like, perfect. ... When you talk about me, I don't want to just be mentioned in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, that's a great accolade, but I want to be one of the greatest in the Hall of Fame."
The 24-year-old linebacker has proven himself in the NFL during his two seasons. Parsons has won the 2021 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award, two Pro Bowl nods and two first-team All-Pro honors. Now heading into his third season, Parsons has taken a different approach in preparation. Parsons admitted this offseason he was "trying to bulk up" and aims to play at 255 pounds this year.
Parsons has high aspirations of earning a gold jacket at the end of his career, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told NFL Network's Rich Eisen, Steve Wyche and Kurt Warner on Hall of Fame Saturday ahead of the enshrinement ceremony that both Parsons and quarterback Dak Prescott have the potential to become future inductees in Canton.
Over the weekend, two former Cowboys players, DeMarcus Ware and Chuck Howley, were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Ware, who played with the team for nine seasons and is their all-time leader in sacks with 117, finished his career with the Broncos and a total of 138.5 sacks.
"Talk about a guy that set the standard. Twenty-sack seasons, I mean a guy who's just outright dominated in his prime and went out in the right way," Parsons said of Ware. "I couldn't be more excited for him. I thought he was a first-ballot guy. A guy that I looked up to. His IQ, bro, anytime you just talk to him about football, when he just came in that one day, I just learned so much. And he just really grabs the room, and man, when you talk about handwork and technical and soundness, that guy is the epitome of that."
Parsons will rely on Ware's mentorship to lead Dallas to a hopeful Super Bowl appearance in 2023. In the future, Parsons may receive a knock at his door from his mentor.
