Cowboys' Micah Parsons Reveals He Lost 10 Pounds: More Weight Not Always a 'Positive'

Dallas Cowboys superstar linebacker Micah Parsons has lost 10 pounds to get back to his Penn State playing weight of 240.

In conjunction with that, Parsons has noticeably been playing more off-ball linebacker at training camp as first-year Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer takes the reins.

Parsons spoke about the weight change and versatile defensive role with reporters, per Saad Yousuf of The Athletic.

"I'm going to be all over, man. At the end of the day, they got to find me. That's what I train for. There are some days I would go into the gym and do 500, 600 reps. It's that muscle endurance, that conditioning that you're training for. The long haul. Great trainers and great people helped me understand that more weight doesn't always mean a positive thing. It's just how you train."

Jon Machota of The Athletic also added this note from Parsons about what to expect week-to-week.

This will be a marked change from what Parsons experienced under former Cowboys DC Dan Quinn, now the Washington Commanders head coach.

Per Reid Hanson of Cowboys Wire, Parsons lined up at defensive line on 755 of his 863 snaps, many of which came from the left side.

Based on early training camp returns plus the weight change, it appears far less likely that fans will be seeing Parsons start on the D-line nearly that often.

Regardless of where Parsons winds up, there's no denying his tremendous talent, and that should show out no matter where Zimmer places him. After three seasons, Parsons has 213 tackles and 40.5 sacks to his name.

He's a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro who has finished top three in the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year voting for three straight seasons.

The Cowboys finished seventh in scoring defense in 2021 and fifth in 2022 and 2023 with Quinn leading the defense on the sidelines and Parsons guiding it on the field. Now Zimmer, the former Minnesota Vikings head coach, is leading a defense that at least schematically will have a new look. But Parsons is still headline the D as Dallas looks forward to its season opener on Sept. 8 at the Cleveland Browns.