Cowboys’ Micah Parsons: I Want to Be ‘1 of the Greatest’ HOF Players in NFL History
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With Dallas Cowboys legend DeMarcus Ware getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Micah Parsons is already thinking about what his own legacy might look like as he approaches his third NFL season.
Parsons told reporters getting into the Hall of Fame isn’t enough; he wants to be considered among the greatest of the great.
“When you talk about great careers, [when] you talk about the Hall of Fame, like I don’t think I just want to make the Hall of Fame,” he said. “I just want to be known as one of the greatest Hall of Famers. There’s categories to everything. There’s good. There’s great and there’s like, perfect.
“When you talk about me, I don’t want to just be mentioned in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, that’s a great accolade, but I want to be one of the greatest in the Hall of Fame.”
It’s obviously far too early to discuss the two-time All-Pro within any sort of all-time context. He’s likely to have a decade or more to come in the league.
Parsons has put himself on quite the trajectory, though.
The 24-year-old was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021 after totaling 13 sacks, 20 tackles for loss and three fumbles. He followed up in 2022 by putting together basically the same season (13.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles).
Bruce Smith is the NFL’s all-time sack leader, and he had just 21.5 through his first two years. Parsons is also ahead of the pace set by J.J. Watt, who had a solid but unspectacular rookie campaign before leading the NFL in sacks (20.5) in 2012. Julius Peppers, who’s fifth on the all-time sacks list, had just one year in which he eclipsed Parsons’ 2022 sack output.
Parsons is behind the pace set by Reggie White, though. White had 13 sacks in 13 games as a rookie before getting to 18 in 1986 and earning the first of his six straight All-Pro nods.
Still, Parsons can achieve his long-term objective as long as he maintains his current level of performance through his prime playing years.
