FRISCO, Texas — Unless you’ve been asleep under a pretty sizable rock that also lacked WiFi coverage, you might’ve heard the Dallas Cowboys sent three-time All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for two first-round picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
It’s a decision the front office and head coach Brian Schottenheimer both describe as “unanimous”, the latter taking to the podium one day later to describe his thoughts on the team’s outlook.
“Our team goals haven’t changed,” said Schottenheimer.
What also has not changed is Parsons’ relationship with the young defensive ends in Dallas, e.g., rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku and second-year standout Marshawn Kneeland, those two in particular speaking to media to voice their reaction to the blockbuster news that landed on Thursday.
“Yeah, I was surprised, I would say,” Ezeiruaku said. “We were all anticipating him being here but, you know, things work out the way they work out. So, like I said, we’re excited for him, and that one of our brothers got what he wanted, and what he deserved.”
The bond between Parsons and Ezeiruaku stems back to the moment he got the call from the Cowboys to be their second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“As soon as I got drafted, he was one of the first people to reach out to me,” the rookie said. “He taught me a lot … and we will still talk. This is not like a funeral, or anything like that, where he’s just not around. We talked last night, too.
“We had a phone call and he said, ‘I’m still here for you.’ And me, too. We’re gonna support each other from where he’s at.”
Kneeland echoed Ezeiruaku’s sentiments loudly — all of them.
“Yeah, it was shocking, of course,” said Kneeland.
News of the trade was delivered by Parsons himself via text message in the Cowboys’ defensive line group chat, and all will continue to be in communication going forward as the mentorship rolls along and allows the defensive ends in Dallas to pick the brain of Parsons as needed and, outside of football, to simply build on their already established bond.
It’s also true, however, that Kneeland, Ezeiruaku and Co. understand the assignment.
“We talk about it all the time,” he said. “Whether [Parsons] was here or not, it is going to be important for all of us to really go out there and produce, and just play an attack front. That’s just what this is going to have to be, anyway. So now we all really get to show what we can do.”
It goes without saying you can count Ezeiruaku in as looking to play with his hair on fire.
“I’ve always been hungry,” the rookie said. “We’ve always been hungry to go get it and hit the quarterback. At the same time, we understand it’s a big piece of the pie that’s missing, that’s not here anymore, and we’ve got to fill that; and we’re gonna do exactly that. … Yeah, I’m ready.”
As both the Cowboys and Parsons look to move on from a toxic spring and summer that ended in an uncontested divorce, the date you feel pulsating on your phone’s calendar is suddenly Sept. 28, seeing as that will mark the first time Parsons – a lifelong Cowboys fan turned Cowboys first-round pick turned Cowboys perennial All-Pro turned disgruntled trade piece — will take on his former team, and at AT&T Stadium, no less.
On that day, the aforementioned assignment for Ezeiruaku and Kneeland, and others in the defensive ends room, becomes more glaringly clear because, for 60 minutes of football, there will be no bond between brothers on opposite sidelines.
There will only be a win or a loss, and who outshined whom.
Just ask Kneeland if there will be a competition for who can tally the most sacks in Week 4, and under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football.
No need, because he already answered.
“Mm-hmm,” he said with a sly smirk. “Definitely.”
