Don’t expect to see Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons on the field at the start of the regular season.
After suffering a torn ACL in December, Parsons is not going to be able to return until at least October, he told reporters on Wednesday.
Multiple reporters also relayed that Parsons said he had to have a clean-up procedure on his meniscus. Because of that, Parsons has a hard rule of at least a nine-month recovery before he’s able to play.
Parsons’ surgery was performed on Dec. 29, with nine months after that being Sept. 29. That could, in theory, put the Week 4 game against the Buccaneers in play. But the Week 5 against the Bears or the Week 6 against the Cowboys could be a bit more realistic, if not the Week 7 divisional contest against the Lions.
Parsons would rather come back and be effective than come back quickly.
“We have a pretty strong nine-month rule,” Parsons said, via Ryan Wood of USA Today. “It’s just all about … the research and the data. There’s no good outcomes with players coming back early from an ACL, especially if you’re having other things getting fixed up.”
“The goal for me is to complete the season … the goal has always been playoffs,” Parsons added, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
With this timeline, it’s likely that Parsons will start training camp and the regular season on the physically unable to perform list.
Parsons recorded 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 27 quarterback hits in 14 games with Green Bay in 2025.
The Cowboys public relations staff, lauded for overall professionalism with reporters who cover the franchise, were selected as the 2026 Pete Rozelle Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America.
The Cowboys PR staff, the 37th Rozelle Award winner, earned the award for the first time in franchise history.
The other 2026 finalists for the Rozelle Award were the Vikings and Seahawks.
The Rozelle Award is given to the NFL club public relations staff that consistently strives for excellence in its dealings and relationships with the media. The award is named for Rozelle, NFL commissioner from 1960-89, who started his distinguished career in sports PR roles as a student at both Compton (Calif.) Junior College and the University of San Francisco.
During the 2025 season, the Cowboys’ football communications staff was comprised of Tad Carper (senior vice president of communications), Scott Agulnek (director of football communications), David Abbruzese (public relations manager), Bronte Hermesmeyer (public relations coordinator), Whitney Faulkner (public and community relations program manager) and Kalie Smith (football communications seasonal intern).
A finalist for the Rozelle Award for the third time in the last four years (2023, 2024 and 2026), the Cowboys’ PR team worked to facilitate access during the 2025 season for beat writers to head coach Brian Schottenheimer, assistant coaches and players along with owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones and front office personnel throughout the season.
The retirement of Parris Campbell opened a spot on the Cowboys’ 90-man roster when he retired last week and the team filled it on Monday.
They did so by replacing Campbell in the wide receiver room. They announced the signing of rookie free agent Romello Brinson.
Brinson tried out for the Dolphins after being passed over in April, but did not sign with the team. He had 43 catches for 638 yards and three touchdowns in his final season at SMU.
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens head up a Dallas receiver group that also includes Ryan Flournoy, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, KaVontae Turpin, Jonathan Mingo, Tyler Johnson, seventh-round pick Anthony Smith, and Brinson’s former college teammate Jordan Hudson.
They have to install playing surfaces that meet exacting standards. They have to change the names of the facilities. They have to shut down all other business (such as major concerts) for the duration of the World Cup.
Given the hoops through which the 11 NFL stadiums will have to jump in order to placate FIFA, it’s fair to ask whether it’s worth it.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe recently took a look at that question. Said an NFL official from a team that won’t be hosting any of the World Cup games, “I know more than a few teams weren’t disappointed to lose the bid.”
That could be sour grapes, because those who won the right to host the matches are crowing about it.
“Can’t sleep,” Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones said recently, per Volin. “This is a great chance to associate with the worldwide love with soccer, and lets us put a little notch on our belt and share it with what soccer’s about, too. They’ll never be able to take away that we held those games in that stadium.”
Cowboys executive Stephen Jones echoed the sentiment: “We’ll be shut down all summer. But it’s worth it. I mean, this is about brand and, you know, being a part of something special.”
The Joneses wanted to host the matches badly enough to give up their suite for the matches.
“I think I’ve got to go someplace else, but that was a part of it,” Jerry Jones said. “We did a lot of things to make this work.”
The Cowboys, Patriots, Falcons, Texans, Chargers/Rams, Giants/Jets, Chiefs, Seahawks, 49ers, Dolphins, and Eagles will be hosting World Cup games in their stadiums.
The total revenue is projected, per Volin, to be roughly $11 billion. FIFA will pay rent for the stadiums, while keeping the revenue from sponsorships, tickets, suites, merchandise, concessions, and parking.
So how much will the teams get for hosting the World Cup? Per Volin, the terms “have been kept under wraps.”
Given that folks like Jones are not known for doing bad deals, they’ll surely be making more money to host the World Cup matches than they would have made in a normal summer.
Still, it’s a headache. Extra work, extra expenses, extra hassles.
Not to mention the P.R. bruise that comes from the perception/reality that NFL owners who are giving FIFA the surfaces it demands while stubbornly refusing to do the same for pro football players.
Osa Odighizuwa was drafted by the Cowboys in 2021. The defensive tackle re-signed with them in 2025 despite a higher offer from the Commanders as one of the top free agents.
All for the Cowboys to trade him to the 49ers this offseason.
His new team plays his old team this season, and Odighizuwa is very much looking forward to the meeting.
“It’s the game that you got a picture on the dartboard, and you’re throwing a knife at the picture,” Odighizuwa said recently on The Richard Sherman Podcast, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “Now, I just take down the picture and I put up the other picture, and I’m on the other side of it, but the energy is exactly the same.”
Odighizuwa became expendable after the Cowboys traded for Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams. The 49ers sent a third-round pick to Dallas for him.
“I’m definitely happy to be [with the 49ers],” Odighizuwa said. “It’s a great organization from top to bottom. I feel like it’s definitely just a winning mentality over here, so it’s definitely cool to be a part of that and go from one good organization to another one, and just being in a great space.”
Odighizuwa recorded 216 tackles, 81 quarterback hits, 34 tackles for loss and 17 sacks in his five seasons with the Cowboys. He expects more. He will make his return to AT&T Stadium on Nov. 15.
“For the past five years, I haven’t scratched the surface of the player that I am,” Odighizuwa said. “It hasn’t been put on full display, so I just plan on putting that on display.”
