Micah Parsons is not shy about his opinions, and the Cowboys pass rusher had plenty to say about Aaron Donald coming back to the Rams. Parsons’s reaction was equal parts respect, competitiveness, and a small dose of “this is going to be fun.”
Donald announced his return to the Rams on a one-year deal worth roughly $20 million after nearly two years of retirement. The move was triggered in large part by the trade that brought Myles Garrett to Los Angeles. Donald himself said the Garrett deal “for sure got me thinking” about whether he still had it.
Parsons’s reaction was that of a fellow pass rusher who understands exactly what is coming. Donald is arguably the best defensive tackle of his generation. Garrett is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. That combination on the same defensive front is a nightmare for every offense in the league.
Cowboys fans will remember Parsons’s history with the Rams. Los Angeles is in the NFC, and the Cowboys have a rivalry with the entire conference. Any time Dallas draws the Rams on the schedule, the front seven battle is going to be must-watch television.
Parsons has been open about his admiration for Donald. He has said in the past that Donald was one of the players he studied coming into the league. Watching him dismantle offenses on film taught Parsons what elite pass rushers do differently. Now they are going to be on the same field again, at least in interconference games.
The bigger picture for the Rams is that they have suddenly assembled one of the most terrifying defensive lines in football. Donald and Garrett together. Kobie Turner still developing. Byron Young providing edge speed. Larrell Murchison playing solid interior snaps. If the coordinator can figure out how to rotate all the talent, offenses are going to be in trouble every single week.
Parsons also touched on what Donald’s return means for the sport itself. The NFL is a young man’s league. Guys who leave rarely come back at the same level. Donald is 35, and the last time he played, he was still elite. If he shows up in September looking anywhere close to the pre-retirement version, it changes the calculus for other veterans thinking about retirement.
Cowboys fans have their own reasons to care about this. Dallas is trying to build a defense that can hold up in January. The path to the Super Bowl in the NFC probably runs through Los Angeles at some point. Knowing what the Rams are going to look like on defense matters a lot for Dallas planning.
Parsons himself is a walking headline. His comments this offseason about his own contract situation and his own future have been all over the media. Watching him take a beat to compliment another player is a nice reminder that even the loudest players in the league have real respect for each other underneath all the noise.
The football part is what actually matters. Donald and Garrett coming off the ball on the same third-and-long is a matchup problem no offensive line in football is ready for. The Rams might have the best pass rush in the league on paper, and that changes what they can do on offense too. Sean McVay can be more conservative on early downs if he knows his defense will get stops.
Parsons wrapped his comments by saying he cannot wait to see Donald back on Sundays. Neither can the rest of us. The Rams open the season in a few weeks. Donald will be there. So will Garrett. The rest of the league has been warned.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
