Micah Parsons' Injury Confirmed by MRI as Cowboys Defense Left Scrambling

Throughout the evening, after Micah Parsons left the field at MetLife Stadium during the Cowboys' 20-15 win over the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football, the fear was that he had suffered a high ankle sprain, a notoriously stubborn injury for a player who relies on burst like Parsons does.

On Friday, according to NFL insider Ian Rapaport of NFL Media, an MRI on Parsons' ankle confirmed that fear. It's still up in the air exactly how long Parsons might be out.

"Sources: #Cowboys All-Pro Micah Parsons did, in fact, suffer a high-ankle sprain in last night’s win over the #Giants . His status is to be determined," Rapoport wrote on Twitter/X.

Parsons suffered the injury with 3:30 left to play in the fourth quarter of the much-needed win . He was rushing quarterback Daniel Jones when Giants guard Daniel Van Roten appeared to roll up on his ankle as Van Roten fell from behind Parsons.

"Right now, I just iced it," Parsons said on Thursday. "I know very little. I've got an MRI [Friday], and I'm going to try to get back next week."

Because they played on Thursday, the Cowboys will not take the field again until Oct. 6, giving Parsons 10 full days to rest the ankle. Dallas will play Pittsburgh, followed by Detroit at home on Oct. 13. After that is the team's bye week. It is possible, then, for Parsons to give the ankle 31 days of rest between now and when Dallas faces the 49ers on October 27, while only missing two games.

It has been a rough opening month for the Dallas defense, which had solid performances in Weeks 1 and 4, but were torched at home by the Saints and Ravens in Weeks 2 and 3.

Losing Parsons, the best player on the unit and among the best defensive players in the NFL, would be an especially difficult blow. With a 92.4 grade at Pro Football Focus last year, Parsons was the No. 2 edge rusher (out of 112) in the NFL.

No timetable has been set for Parsons. The Cleveland Clinic noted that high ankle sprains can take most people six-to-eight weeks of recovery and rehab, though it depends on the severity of the sprain. As a high-level athlete, we can presume that Parsons will be back before that.