Eagles Lane Johnson Sends Clear Message on Cowboys Star Micah Parsons: Exclusive
Lane Johnson talks like someone who is from Texas, but the Philadelphia Eagles star has proved to be a thorn in the side of the Dallas Cowboys during his NFL career. As fate would have it, both Johnson and Jalen Hurts are Texas natives who play a big role in standing in the way of the Cowboys’ postseason aspirations. During an exclusive interview with Heavy Sports, Johnson opened up on the NFC East rivalry, Micah Parsons’ contract standoff, playing alongside Hurts and his partnership with USAA.
Johnson admits that the Eagles are preparing to face Parsons when the team takes on the Cowboys to kickoff the NFL season in Week 1. The six-time Pro Bowler also left the door open for things to change given Parsons’ uncertain status, noting that the Eagles are on “standby” regarding his availability.
Parsons is seeking a new contract extension and requested a trade during training camp. Philadelphia is expecting Parsons to primarily line up on left tackle Jordan Mailata’s side, but Johnson added that the pass rusher will have his “full attention” when he is staring down the Cowboys star.
“You know, contract situations, you (look at) different teams,” Johnson told Heavy Sports in the exclusive interview on August 25, 2025. “Some are smooth, some take time. (I expect Parsons to) be out there.
“He’s (not primarily) on my side. He’s going to be on Jordan’s side. When he’s on my side, he has my full attention. Just (for) player he is. Yeah, man. As players, you see different guys (dealing with) contract stuff. Trey Hendrickson, Micah. It’s just part of the business.
“… We’ll see. We’re kind of on standby with that but obviously out of our control. We’ll see what happens Week 1.”
Lane Johnson on Cowboys vs. Eagles: ‘It’s Just One of the Best Rivalries in Sports’
The two stars share an interesting connection as Parsons grew up less than two hours away from Philadelphia in nearby Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Unless something changes with his ongoing contract saga, Parsons is now one of the faces of the Eagles’ biggest rivals after also starring at Penn State.
Similarly, Johnson grew up in East Texas to a family full of Cowboys fans. Now, Johnson is doing his best to prevent the Cowboys from climbing back to the top of the NFC East.
“It’s just one of the best rivalries in sports,” Johnson remarked when asked about the ongoing Cowboys-Eagles feud. “Two totally different cultures.
“But yeah, the thing they do share is that they’re both extremely passionate. I think that’s why you see the rivalry that you do is that you have so many people that care. Yeah man, as you play and the years add up, it becomes just another game.”
Lane Johnson Teamed Up With USAA & Team Whistle for Intense Training Session
The Cowboys will be dealing with an offensive lineman who added some military training to his workout regimen. Johnson partnered with USAA and Team Whistle “for a day in the life going through the military’s ultimate test – SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) training.”
As part of the intense day, Johnson had a “crash course in navigation, fire making and survival skills, and was put under a simulated mission of evading enemies in hostile territory in Team Whistle’s ‘I Could Do That’ series,” per USAA.
Fans can check out the above video to see how Johnson fared with the intense tasks. Johnson and the Eagles are 6.5-point favorites against the Cowboys for the Week 1 clash, per FanDuel.
Notable Absence from Miami Dolphins’ Team Captains
In his first three seasons with the Miami Dolphins, wide receiver Tyreek Hill was a team captain. Now? He’s not.
The Dolphins named their team captains for the 2025 season and they are quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, fullback Alex Ingold, edge rusher Bradley Chubb, center Aaron Brewer, defensive tackle Zach Sieler and linebacker Jordyn Brooks.
Back in May, Hill said that he didn’t deserve to be a team captain and that he needed to regain the trust of his teammates.
“I’ve got to prove myself,” Hill said then. “This OTAs, training camp, I’ve got to prove myself. I’ve got to show up different. The mindset has got to be different. I don’t feel like I deserve it, and if I didn’t get it, I wouldn’t dwell on it. I wouldn’t sweat it because I put myself in that position.”
Tyreek Hill talked his way out of the captaincy back in January
Following the team’s season-ending loss to the New York Jets in January, Hill made some real un-captain-esque comments to reporters. A team leader would have taken responsibility and emphasized hard work and focus moving forward into the offseason.
Hill decided to go in a different direction.
“This is my first time I haven’t been in the playoffs,” Hill told reporters. “I just gotta do what’s best for me and my family. If that’s here or wherever the case may be, I’m finna open that door for myself. I’m opening the door. I’m out, bro.
“It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, bro, I got to do what’s best for my career. I’m too much of a competitor to be just out there.”
Remember that time he said he had to prove himself again to his teammates? This is what he was referring to. So, based on his previous comments, Hill himself is not surprised that he wasn’t named a team captain.
Tyreek Hill even criticized De’Von Achane because of course he did
Yes, Hill was asked about his opinion on the Dolphins’ short-yardage struggles in early August and he answered. But, he needs to do a better job of navigating these things. He’s 31-years old and should know better than to get baited by a reporter. And not for nothing, what insight would a short, outside speed demon provide regarding 3rd-and-1 situations?
“Take De‘Von [Achane] out on third down — what?” Hill said. “That’s my honest opinion. If it’s third-and-short, he’s not a power back. I keep telling him that in the locker room, but he swears he’s a power back. I love De’Von, but if I’m being honest like that’s why you got Jaylen Wright, that’s why you got Ollie Gordon II, for those kind of situations.”
When head coach Mike McDaniel was informed of these comments, he surely didn’t have some private, table-flipping meltdown. But, he was most likely in the ‘I really don’t want to deal with this nonsense again’ camp.
“I thought it was genius reporting by Tyreek, seeing how we had a short-yardage period that very day that you guys were in attendance for, and his suggestion was I guess congruent with [running backs coach Eric] Studesville — that’s exactly how we repped the backs in that short-yardage period that very day,” McDaniel said. “But we thought it was funny that he reported the news that wasn’t news on that practice day in that short-yardage period that you guys were all there, too, for.”
These are absolutely the kinds of things that flashed through his head when picking team captains. Tyreek was most likely crossed off the list of potential captains further back than any of us know.
