Cowboys' plans for Micah Parsons might have been derailed by recent injury news

Whether right or wrong, the Dallas Cowboys are clearly taking a stance on how they want to use Micah Parsons during the 2024 NFL season.

With defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer taking over the unit in Dallas, the debate around whether Parsons should play defensive end or linebacker only grew throughout the offseason. A few days into camp, it seems like Zimmer will tap into both.

Parsons has gotten reps at off-ball linebacker while being tasked with both defending the run and dropping back into coverage. Per multiple reporters with boots on the ground, he's done well so far.

But Sunday's season-ending injury to Sam Williams might derail those plans, at least to an extent. Without Williams, the Cowboys' depth at defensive end/edge rusher grows significantly thinner, particularly on the experience front. Marshawn Kneeland, Viliami Fehoko, Tyrus Wheat, Durrell Johnson, and Byron Vaughns, combine for 31 defensive snaps, all of which belong to Wheat. Not even all of those were on the defensive line.

Mike Zimmer makes it sound like Parsons is set to play a lot at LB

"We had big plans for (Sam Williams), he was going to play an awful lot, probably I’m guessing, 75, 70 percent of the time, it will be a big loss," Zimmer told 96.7 The Ticket on Monday . "With us moving Parsons around a little bit, he was going to be out there with Parsons and (DeMarcus Lawrence). But Marshawn Kneeland has done a really nice job. He would’ve played anyway (...) but I think he’s gonna end up having to play a lot now.”

Zimmer's quote above reveals a lot about the Cowboys' original plans with Parsons. As someone who has been skeptical about moving Micah off of the line, if Williams was expected to play 70-75% of the snaps, I interpret the above as the potential off-ball snaps for Micah being much higher than I would've anticipated. For contrast, last year, Cowboys' top backup DE Dorance Armstrong played in 42% of the snaps.

But now, do the Cowboys trust Kneeland and other inexperienced players on the roster (or perhaps a late offseason free agent signing) to take on such a heavy workload? That would probably be setting unfair expectations on the second-round rookie who might need some time to develop.

It would seem to me that Williams' injury should directly impact the amount of time the Cowboys want Parsons off the ball. He's way too valuable rushing the passer to the point where the trade off between getting him at LB while getting inexperienced players opposite of Lawrence might not be worth it.

Don't get me wrong, I have high expectations for Kneeland, who was my favorite pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, and seems to already be turning heads in practice before the pads even come on but he'll likely go through the natural learning curve of a DE at the professional level.

How the Cowboys move forward remains to be seen, but the conversation should go beyond who takes over for Williams: Parsons' usage will be a crucial part of the conversation.

Related: Dallas Cowboys cut former first-round draft pick amid weekend slew of roster moves