CLEVELAND, Ohio — Packers new edge rusher Micah Parsons will soon see if flattery gets him anywhere.
Heading into Sunday’s matchup between the Browns and Packers at Huntington Bank Field, Parsons paid his good friend Myles Garrett the ultimate compliment.
“If you argued Myles is better (than me), I wouldn’t hesitate to probably say you’re right,” Parsons told reporters in Green Bay on Friday.
How many NFL edge rushers would be on that distinguished list?
“Just him,” Parsons said. “Just him.”
Garrett, when asked Friday who’s the better player of the two, said “I guess we’ll have to see by the end of the season.”
But he ranks them right up there with anyone in their era, and they both have the record-setting stats to prove it.
“I think we’re two of the very best,” Garrett said. “I think we’re two of the very best of this generation. We’ve just got to continue to lead the way. There are definitely some other names in that conversation, but I think saying that he’s in it and that I’m in it is not out of the norm.”
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Knowing they’re the best at their craft “brings the brotherhood tight,” Parsons said. But what he admires most about Garrett is his willingness to reach out a hand or lend an ear.
“Competing and understanding what he’s done for the game of football and how he’s come in and dominated but then also offering fellowship and mentorship, I think that’s what separates the good and the great,” Parsons said. “Like just being a big brother, a big friend outside of football, you offering that, I think that offers just an unbelievable amount of respect when you do that.
“And you see his work ethic and you see his process and you say, ‘okay, this is why this guy is this good and this great.’ I think a lot goes into it but obviously those factors weigh a lot more.”
In the offseason, Parsons worked out in Dallas with Garrett and some other Browns, including Alex Wright, Isaiah McGuire and undrafted rookie Adin Huntington. Texans’ premier edge rusher Will Anderson was also there. Garrett, the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a workout warrior, set the bar crazy high and challenged everyone to reach it.
“Oh man, they’re heated,” Parsons said of the sessions. “They’re heated. In all my life — and I was at Penn State and I was in a super competitive environment — but you couldn’t have a bad day (in the Dallas workouts). There was a lot of (expletive) talking and nonsense going on between me, Will, Adin and a couple of other guys from Cleveland, but I mean you couldn’t have a bad day.
“The stakes were high every day. They tell you don’t look into the future, but I can’t wait to get back into that room and see how these guys complete the season and see how everyone performed. But I think everyone is off to a really good start.”
Who’s the bigger trash talker between him and Garrett?
“Uh, probably me,” Parsons said. “Probably me. Myles don’t say a lot and if you get some words out of him, you’re really starting to get under his skin.”
Did he manage to pull that off?
“Of course,” Parsons said. “100%. 100%.”
During one sauna session, Parsons called his salary shot with Garrett, who set the premier edge-rusher market at $40 million a year when he signed his blockbuster extension in March. At the time, it made him the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL, but Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase soon surpassed him at $40.25 million, and then Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt at $41 million.
“He was like, if I get a deal, I’m going to beat the (expletive) out of your deal,” Garrett said. “And he went out there and got it. So that was part of the, I guess, the humorous part of the deal. Then him texting me talking about, ‘did I do right?’ And I was like, ‘nah, you did perfect.’ So I’m just glad to see him get what he’s earned and he’s worth every dollar. He’s shown that and him and that defense have been on a tear.”
Parsons, of course, blew the others out of the water with his $47 million a year deal — $7 million a year more than Garrett only five months later. Did Garrett rib him for that?
“Oh, I mean, not really, no,” he said. “He had already told me he was going to go do it and he’s a lot younger than me, so I guess that has something to do with it. But I’m proud and I’m glad he went out there and got the deal that he went out there and earned.”
Parsons, the Cowboys first round pick in 2021 out of Penn State, acknowledged that Garrett helped him during his contentious trade demand, one that resulted in him being shipped to Green Bay in exchange for two first-round picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Garrett’s own trade request ended in him remaining with the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2017, and getting the mega-extension.
“Obviously him just offering moral support, just being a big brother, good friend throughout this situation,” Parsons said.
Parsons wasn’t asked in Green Bay about trying to outplay Garrett on Sunday. But last season, when the Cowboys faced the Browns in the opener, he made it clear that bragging rights were on the line.
“It’s really not about the number [of sacks I get],” Parsons said. “It’s really about letting the world know, ‘This dude is really the best.’”
Garrett knows the name of the game within the game on Sunday, whether stated this year by Parsons or not.
“That’s my brother on the other side of the field, but it doesn’t matter who it is or what the relationship is,” Garrett said. “That’s who I want to be and that’s what I want to be anytime I step on the field, regardless of the team or the person on the other side. And I know that’s his aspiration as well.”
In that meeting last year, Parsons notched 1 sack, 11 pressures, four hits, six hurries and one batted ball. Garrett notched a sack, three pressures, two hurries and a forced fumble, but Parsons got the last laugh with a 33-17 victory.
This year, Parsons hopes to add a new pelt to his collection.
“Man, (it’s) really just getting after (Joe) Flacco,” he said. “I kind of like the name ‘The Hunter.’ I haven’t had Flacco yet. I need him. I want him. It’s time to go get him.
Garrett, meanwhile, will be looking for a little love this game. Jordan, that is.
May the best $40 million man win.