The season hasn't even started yet, but it looks like there's already tension among Dallas Cowboys players. Specifically, it involves Micah Parsons and Malik Hooker, who aren't seeing eye to eye over the former's podcast. Hooker ignited the fuse when he made eye-raising comments about his teammate on Keyshawn Johnson's podcast.
“My advice for Micah would be just make sure we’re all right,” Hooker said, per NBC Sports' Charean Williams. “Because if we’re at work and the run game’s terrible, but you’re doing a podcast every week and you know the run game is terrible, then what are you really caring about? Are you caring about the crowd that was watching the podcast or are you caring about the success of our team and the Super Bowl that we’re trying to reach?”
That's one way to call out a teammate. Usually, the best time for teammates to settle disagreements is when there are no cameras around, to avoid unnecessary publicity. While one could view Hooker as a teammate who wants more locker-room accountability, sharing those kinds of thoughts in a podcast could have repercussions. And this time, the consequence came in the form of a bothered pass rusher.
Once Parsons caught wind of Hooker's words, he responded in a now-deleted X post.
“Just wish you said this to me but instead on some podcast! And you got my number family! @MalikHooker24 and you my locker mate!” Parsons wrote. “So you coulda said this any day! And you do realize I shoot the podcast on our off day! Why ain’t we talking about everyone preparations and focus?”
Parsons and Hooker were key to the Cowboys' defensive campaign
Cowboys fans are surely hoping that this gets resolved before the season, considering how Parsons and Hooker both start on the defensive end. The last thing that Dallas needs is a long-term dispute between their top edge rusher and one of their main safeties.
Parsons is fresh off another stellar campaign, finishing with 14.0 sacks, 64 combined tackles (36 solo), and 33 quarterback hits in 17 regular season games. He was named an AP Second-Team All-Pro while placing third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting as well.
Hooker, on the other hand, tallied 50 combined tackles (27 solo), three passes defended, and an interception in 16 outings, 15 of which he started in.
In terms of average yardage and points, the Cowboys' defense allowed just 299.7 opponent yards and 18.5 opponent points per game — fifth best in the league in both categories. While getting stops against the run was a major dent in their armor, Dallas' passing defense made up for it, as seen in how the team also ranked fifth in opponent passing yards allowed per game (187.4).
There's a lot of uncertainty for Dallas heading into the coming season. From the contract extension rumors surrounding Micah Parsons, Dak Prescott, and CeeDee Lamb, to the major roster changes — departures might be a more fitting term — during free agency, it's best that the Cowboys stick together to avoid any additional headaches.
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