National Football League

Micah Parsons skipping Cowboys workouts to add weight, change positions to defensive end

Published May. 3, 2023 7:10 p.m. ET

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Star Dallas Cowboys pass-rusher Micah Parsons is officially transitioning to defensive end from outside linebacker next season.

Parsons is skipping the Cowboys' offseason program to add weight as he prepares to change positions, he told reporters Wednesday.

Parsons was a linebacker in college at Penn State, was considered one when the Cowboys took him No. 12 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, and is still currently listed as one on the Cowboys' official roster. But he spent most of the past season as a de facto defensive end, recording 13.5 sacks and finishing as the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up behind San Francisco's Nick Bosa. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Parsons only played 195 of his 1,062 total snaps in last year's regular season and playoffs at his "natural" position as an off-ball linebacker.

The 6-foot-3 Parsons is already listed at 245 pounds on the Cowboys' roster. He said Wednesday on Twitter that his current weight is 252 pounds and he is not planning to exceed 255 pounds at any point in his career, and by "bulking up" he just meant he wanted a few additional pounds of muscle to help him handle the physicality at defensive end.

Parsons will presumably line up on the Cowboys' defensive front next season alongside rookie defensive tackle Mazi Smith, whom the Cowboys drafted in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Michigan — much to Parsons' delight.

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