Micah Parsons downplays his return to Dallas, says sacking his mentor Dak Prescott will be 'painful'

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Sacking Dak Prescott would be bittersweet for Micah Parsons.

The two-time All-Pro pass rusher downplayed his upcoming return to Dallas and expressed his feelings about potentially taking down his friend and former teammate in a conversation with The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Parsons and the Green Bay Packers (2-1) face off against Prescott and the Cowboys (1-2) in front of a national television audience on Sunday night.

“It’s going to be painful,” Parsons told the AP about getting a chance to sack Prescott. “That’s my guy. He was always like a good mentor for me. But you know how it is, he always told me if I ever faced him that it’ll be a great matchup, so I’m excited to see what Sunday brings itself.”

Parsons plans to treat it like an ordinary game, though it’ll be his first time inside AT&T Stadium as a visitor.

“I accepted my fate weeks ago when the trade happened,” Parsons said. “So for me, it’s just all about playing another game and just doing what I do best, and that’s just be a disruptive football player. I think the media and the fans are trying to blow it up to be such a big thing. But I just look at it as just another game at AT&T.”

Just a game that was circled on everyone’s calendar after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones traded Parsons to the Packers one week before the NFL’s season opener, ending a lengthy contract dispute.

The Packers increased their Super Bowl hopes with Parsons, and made the 26-year-old the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history by signing him to a $188 million, four-year contract that includes $136 million guaranteed.

The Cowboys (1-2) have struggled without Parsons, especially on defense. They’ve allowed the third-most yards (397.7 per game), most passing yards (288) and sixth-highest points (30.7).

Despite missing all of training camp and arriving in Green Bay a week before the first game, Parsons made an immediate impact on defense in a 27-13 win over the two-time defending NFC North champion Lions in Week 1. The Packers defeated Washington soundly 27-18 four days later. But the offense couldn't get on track in a 13-10 loss at Cleveland in Week 3.

“Besides the fans, just the teammates, the support staff, I mean they made this transition so great and I’m just extremely honored and blessed to be with such a great group of guys that want to win and that just want to play football and I think we’ve been playing really good football so far, so that helps and I just hope we continue that,” Parsons said.

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