Stephen A. Smith addresses Micah Parsons' demands to Dallas Cowboys: 'I need this man to be quiet'
Micah Parsons recently issued a “call to action” to the Dallas Cowboys front office, namely owner Jerry Jones, to be more “aggressive” in building out the roster this offseason. Now, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is telling the outspoken Cowboys linebacker to “shhh” and “to be quiet” … for his own good. “Micah Parsons, I say this affectionately, I need this man to be quiet,” Smith said on Friday morning’s First Take on ESPN. “I really do. I need him to be quiet.” Parsons, who has his own podcast “The Edge with Micah Parsons” on YouTube, expressed his desire for Dallas to be more active on the free agent market following a Make-A-Wish foundation event in Grapevine this week. That message comes just days after the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles locked up the Super Bowl LIX championship thanks in large part to contributions from free agent addition Saquon Barkley, a running back the Cowboys certainly could’ve used this season.
“The talent is there. We’ve just got to be aggressive the same way [other teams] did,” Parsons said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris. “I don’t want to sit back and watch other [teams] build and build and us stay the same. Definitely some call to action.
“I want to see us become aggressive and get some players that will come in and make an impact. I want to see us bring back our own players. That’s just as important. Let’s see what we can do there.”
Only, at least according to Stephen A. Smith, Parsons’ message is ultimately couterproductive to what he he should be focused on — his own pending contract negotiations.
“I want you to get your paper, bro. That’s what I want to do. It’s rare that I see a person, or an athlete, courtesy of his mouth, get in the way of his money. That’s my concern with Micah Parsons,” Smith continued. “I’ve seen plenty of athletes get in the way of their money with their performance, this brother gets in the way of his money by talking and trying to do the right thing. I applaud him for it. But this is Jerry Jones we’re talking about here. “Dak Prescott is the highest paid quarterback in the NFL. CeeDee Lamb is the second-highest paid wide receiver in the NFL. Yeah, they got their money. But Jerry Jones waited until the last minute to give it to them. What do you think he’s going to do with you? Shhhh. Get your paper.”