Sunday night’s game will provide several firsts in the career of Micah Parsons.<\/p>\n
First time using the visitor’s locker room at AT&T Stadium. First time running out of the other tunnel. First time standing on the wrong sideline. (Even when the building hosted the 2019 Cotton Bowl Classic, Parsons’s Penn State Nittany Lions were the designated home team.) And although there will still be a sizable contingent of Cowboys<\/a> silver-and-blue No. 11 jerseys in the capacity crowd, this Week 4 showdown will mark the first time they’ll be rooting against him.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n But there’s another first that could be coming Parsons’s way, if the four-time Pro Bowler with 54 sacks already on his pro r\u00e9sum\u00e9 can get home against the offensive linemen who were his teammates just a month ago and bring down Cowboys quarterback- and personal friend- Dak Prescott.<\/p>\n Oh, he’ll do it if he can, but he may have mixed feelings about it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be painful,\u201d Parsons told The Associated Press about getting a chance to sack Prescott<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s my guy. He was always like a good mentor for me. But you know how it is, he always told me if I ever faced him that it\u2019ll be a great matchup, so I\u2019m excited to see what Sunday brings itself.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cowboys traded Parsons to the Packers just a week before the start of the regular season in a move that shocked the football world. The deal came after a months-long standoff over a new contract extension; Green Bay swooped in and made Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He’s been dynamic in his first three games<\/a> with the Packers: 15 pressures, six QB hits, and 1.5 sacks… and all of that coming while playing less than two-thirds of the defensive unit’s snaps.<\/p>\n It will nevertheless be jarring to see Parsons wearing green and gold on Sunday night. It will likely be strange for Parsons, too. After all, in his social-media goodbye following the trade<\/a>, Parsons admitted, “I never wanted this chapter to end,” and told Cowboys fans, “My heart has always been here, and it still is.”<\/p>\n Parsons would continue, “Wearing the star has been the honor of my life,” but he also quickly came to grips with the fact that life goes on.<\/p>\n \u201cI accepted my fate weeks ago when the trade happened,\u201d he said this week. \u201cSo for me, it\u2019s just all about playing another game and just doing what I do best, and that\u2019s just be a disruptive football player. I think the media and the fans are trying to blow it up to be such a big thing. But I just look at it as just another game at AT&T.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Cowboys will certainly try to make Parsons’s 37th appearance at AT&T (playoffs and college included) just another game. Team owner Jerry Jones has said there will be no video tribute<\/a> to Parsons, even after the organization had previously put together highlight reels to welcome back other former stars like Emmitt Smith and Ezekiel Elliott on their first return visit as opponents.<\/p>\n Sure, there will be plenty of pregame smiles and handshakes shared between Parsons and his former Cowboys teammates and coaches. But once the whistle blows, it will be up to the Dallas offensive line to try to keep Parsons a respectable distance from Prescott.<\/p>\n No need for the reunion to be painful. For Prescott or Parsons.<\/p>\n Follow\u00a0Cowboys Wire on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!<\/p>\n