Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons recently called out Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, suggesting his poor clock management in an overtime tie "may have cost Dan Quinn his job."
During this past weekend's game, Daniels was trying to guide his team to an overtime win over division rivals, the New York Giants. Daniels drew scrutiny for failing to spike the ball or throw it away late in overtime, instead taking a sack as the game ultimately finished 27-27. The Commanders are now 1-3-1, rather than 2-3.
And with that, Parsons spoke up on behalf of his former defensive coordinator on his podcast due to Daniels' "inexcusable" mistake with no timeouts left, indicating he "probably cost a lot of people their jobs this weekend."
Some have since criticized Parsons for getting involved and talking about other players and teams, but ESPN's Stephen A. Smith came to his defense on Wednesday's "First Take."
"I am sick and tired of people in the media thinking that athletes don't have a right to speak their mind," Smith said, adding, "At the end of the day, he ain't a member of the Washington Commanders. He doesn't owe Jayden Daniels anything."
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"If anything, you know what, he's going to side with Dan Quinn. So it makes perfect sense, but most importantly, he has the credentials to do it. He knows what the hell he's talking about; what he said was absolutely correct, and he said it about a man that he supports, because it's a man who helped make him the player that he is," Smith said.
Quinn previously worked as the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023, before taking the head coaching job with the Commanders in 2024. Parsons began his career with the Cowboys in 2021 and played there until last year, when Dallas traded him to the Green Bay Packers.
During ESPN's "Get Up," Smith's colleague, Mike Greenberg, called out Parsons' recent podcast comments, saying it is "completely inappropriate for a person on one team to be commenting on a person on another team."
However, Jeff Saturday joked that "Micah don't care, he says everything on his podcast."
During his time with Dallas, Parsons was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, made four Pro Bowl appearances, and was a two-time All-Pro. This season, he's been on the sidelines for Green Bay, still recovering from his season-ending injury last year.
Earlier this week, ESPN's Rob Demovsky reported that while Parsons won't return for a Week 6 matchup against the Cowboys, head coach Matt LaFleur said a return is "getting closer" for the Pro Bowler.
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