Micah Parsons has faced plenty of criticism for focusing on podcasting while playing for the Cowboys—and rightfully so. He’s made some fairly outlandish remarks just days after games. While his perspective is certainly interesting, he often makes headlines for the wrong reasons. One of the greatest of all time at his position has therefore advised Parsons to step away from podcasting and focus on winning. But Chad Johnson disagrees with that advice.
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Lawrence Taylor is maybe the greatest outside linebacker and edge rusher the NFL has ever seen. He’s one of the few defensive players to ever win MVP, achieving the feat after recording 20.5 sacks in 1986. When asked about today’s game, LT acknowledged that Parsons is one of the best players in the league. But he has one gripe with him: he podcasts too much.
Parsons has released 47 episodes of his Podcast, The Edge with Micah Parsons, since its inception in September of 2023. The goal of the pod is to give fans an inside look at the NFL during a season — from a player’s perspective. In ’23, he released 19 episodes while playing games. Then this past year he released 17 episodes while playing. All others have come in the offseason or preseason.
One could make the argument that the amount of pods that Parsons is doing during the season, even if they’re only once a week, is too much. He should keep his opinions to himself and try to stay out of the limelight. Especially during a time of turmoil for the team he plays for. However, Chad Johnson wholeheartedly disagrees.
Johnson understands where LT is coming from and would never disrespect a great like him. But he also points out that times have changed. If a player wants to capitalize on their platform and make money through podcasting, they should be allowed to. He also notes that the podcast has never taken away from who Parsons is as a player, so why should he have to give it up?
“I agree, but I kinda disagree (with LT). Especially with the times that we’re in right now,” Johnson laid out. “Micah Parsons, he plays really well. He plays at a very high level, along with his podcast. The podcast doesn’t take anything away from him on the football field between the lines. When the whistle blows, you know what you’re getting with 11.”
Unc & Ocho react to LT wanting Micah Parsons to stop podcasting & focus more on playing football @ShannonSharpe @ochocinco @ShayShayMedia_ pic.twitter.com/cY7MDTGTCZ
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) February 20, 2025
If a player wants to capitalize on their position and make money on the side podcasting, then they should be allowed to do that. After all, guys like Parsons usually love to chop it up about the NFL. It just gets tricky at times.
For example, following the Cowboys’ win against the Panthers, he made headlines by saying he still had optimism over the team’s 0.2% chance of making the playoffs. Less than a month later, he made the headlines again for saying his team would be holding the Lombardi in 2026.
Right now, it’s senseless optimism that he’s making headlines for. But how long before he divulges something that causes a rift between the team? That’s why Shannon Sharpe disagreed with Johnson over his take. Because sometimes things are better left unsaid.
“You ain’t gotta say nothing,” Sharpe harshly claimed. “Keep you’re mouth shut, Ocho. No, you don’t. You’ve gotta stop telling these guys they’ve got to say something… Keep it to yourself… When he doesn’t win, how does that make him look, Ocho?”
Johnson agreed that Parsons sometimes comes off as wild. Still, he believes that come game day, Parsons is one of the few players who consistently shows up for the Cowboys, making it hard for him to get upset over a podcast. Johnson also doesn’t think that if Parsons stopped podcasting tomorrow, he would magically level up as a player. He is who he is, and if he wants to pod, so be it.
