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Mike McCarthy: Missed OTAs a missed opportunity for Micah Parsons

When Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy spoke to the media last week, he said edge rusher Micah Parsons had not “missed anything” during his absence from voluntary workouts this spring.

McCarthy sang a different tune on Thursday. Word last week was that Parsons would be back with the team this week, but his return hasn’t included any practice time. Parsons was at the team’s media day on Wednesday and has not taken part in any on-field work.

McCarthy said Parsons looks good and that he has confidence that he’ll be “engaged and he’ll be ready when it’s time,” but that there’s “work to do” in learning a new defense and offered a different view about whether Parsons is missing anything by not participating.

“I think any time that you have a chance to be together, it’s an opportunity to improve,” McCarthy said, via the team’s website.

“Whether it’s in the mental realm, the physical realm and the emotional connection and so forth. It’s a long year. Training camp is really the heightened focus for all of that, but it’s definitely an opportunity that’s been missed.”

It will be some time before there’s a chance to gauge whether Parsons has been negatively impacted by his offseason approach, but chances seem good that he’ll remain as impactful a player as he’s been over his first three seasons.