Cowboys News: Parsons dealing with illness, Jerry Jones lawsuit refiled, did Dolly’s stage malfunction?

Thursday’s showdown between the Cowboys and Seahawks inches closer, but one Dallas superstar is suddenly under the weather. We’ve got that, plus good news for Jayron Kearse as he looks to make his return. And updates out of Seattle are encouraging for both their quarterback and primary protector.

Meanwhile, Shaq Leonard is weighing his options with a visit to a bitter rival. Dak Prescott is on fire as he enters the MVP race, we examine how he’s helped the resurgent Cowboys passing attack, and he gets an unlikely shout-out from one of the most polarizing figures in today’s game. The Cowboys will prepare to see an old foe in new enemy colors, we dig at the truth behind this year’s home-field advantage, and a franchise legend wonders if the eighth time will be the charm. All that, plus the defamation lawsuit involving Jerry Jones that was thrown out last month is back on (and with new allegations). Here’s the News and Notes.

Link

The team didn’t practice Tuesday, but if they had, Parsons would have been a non-participant. He’s listed with an illness, as was defensive end Dante Fowler. Game designations will come out Wednesday for Thursday night’s Seattle matchup.

Link

The free agent linebacker spent a good chunk of Tuesday at The Star getting checked out medically and even having lunch with Jerry Jones, but he didn’t sign a contract while he was there. Leonard will instead follow through on a planned visit to Philadelphia before making a decision on where to play next.

Link

Mike McCarthy admits that Prescott & Co. “looked like a first-year offense a little bit the first four weeks” of the season while they worked through some new variations of things they’d previously done. Now they’re using pre-snap motion and play-action to create explosive plays at a staggering rate, and Prescott is completely in the zone as the team heads into the teeth of their schedule.

Link

By some measures, Prescott has been the best quarterback in the league since Week 6. But to him, the fact that he’s in the MVP conversation now is more about the team than it is him. “It means I’m playing well. Simple as that,” Prescott said. “I’m about one goal, and it’s a big team goal, and I know if my name’s in there that means we’re playing well. So, that’s great. But at the end of the day, we’re just trying to build. I mean, being eight years into this thing, it’s about building and building and making sure we’re getting better and better each and every week and getting hot right when we need to be.”

Link

Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers admitted that Prescott has become one of his favorite quarterbacks to watch and complimented him on the “really impressive way” he is playing the position at a very high level. Whatever your personal take on the polarizing Rodgers, it was high praise indeed from someone who knows what he is talking about when it comes to QB play.

Link

Smith came into last Thursday night’s contest banged up from the previous game, but Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said the quarterback was “putting on a show” during practice in recent days. “He was full go the whole time, and that was not the case [last week].” Right tackle Lucas “practiced really well” as he attempts to make his return from an injury suffered in Week 1. Running back Kenneth Walker III, however, will “go into this game in question,” as per Carroll.

Link

The Cowboys’ 5-0 home record may be misleading, given the combined record of the opponents in those games. And the away contests have been against much better teams, overall. The home field advantage is real… but maybe not worth as much as the average home-vs-away scoring splits would suggest.

Link

Woodson was previously a semifinalist in 2015, 2017, and every year from 2019 through 2023. He made it to the finalist stage last year for the first time. The list of 25 semifinalists will be narrowed down to 15 modern-era finalists before the final voting process, with the Class of 2024 to be announced during Super Bowl Week.

Link

The lawsuit that was thrown out last month by a federal judge is back on after the woman who alleges that Jones is her biological father was permitted to refile the complaint. The new suit alleges that a lawyer and consultant for Jones ran a smear campaign accusing Alexandra Davis “of being an extortionist” and attempted to portray her legal battle against Jones as a “shakedown.” The new claim also says the Jones team attempted to link Davis to an extortion “conspiracy” that includes the four Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who received a $2.4 million settlement in the Rich Dalrymple videotaping scandal.

Link

The former third-string Cowboys backup is back on the practice squad in New England after being released last weekend. He has yet to appear in a game for the Patriots, who are foundering with both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe under center.

Link

If it looked like the 77-year-old music icon was hanging onto that star-shaped riser for dear life during her halftime performance on Thanksgiving, there may have been a legitimate reason. Parton’s manager had previewed the mini-concert by saying it would involve the biggest production the Cowboys had ever done for a halftime show, yet Parton never moved from in front of that star. It appeared the plan may have been for her to emerge through a hole in the top of the platform and perform atop it; the Cowboys have declined to comment, saying multiple parties are responsible for producing the halftime show.