Cowboys won't make Parsons full-time pass-rusher

The Dallas Cowboys aren't interested in moving Micah Parsons to defensive end, where he would rush the quarterback on all passing downs.

"The people that say, 'Hey, why don't you play him at defensive end?' - very fair. That's a very fair question," head coach Mike McCarthy told David Helman of DallasCowboys.com. "But we've made it clear: we want him moving around."

A natural linebacker, Parsons led the Cowboys with 13 sacks as a rookie last season. Dallas will enter the 2022 campaign looking to replace defensive end Randy Gregory, who left for the Denver Broncos in free agency.

"It would be very easy to just line him up at end and play him there every down, but the fact of the matter is he had, what, 13 sacks? Seven came from the linebacker position, six from the defensive end position," McCarthy said.

The third-year head coach added it would help opposing offenses game plan for the Cowboys if Parsons is limited to one role.

"I know as an offensive guy, you're helping me if you can line him up at one position every time," he said.

Parsons notched 84 tackles, three forced fumbles, and three pass breakups to go with 13 sacks last year. The Penn State product was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.