Malik Hooker took to a podcast to question Micah Parsons' proclivity for podcasting.
The Cowboys safety spoke for nearly an hour on a Thursday episode of about a myriad of Dallas topics, but the take that got the most attention -- including from his edge-rushing teammate -- had to do with his belief that Parsons must be careful to ensure he remains locked in during the season.
"My advice for Micah would be just make sure we're alright and being where you're feet are," Hooker said. "Because if we're at work and, you know, the run game's terrible but you're doing a podcast every week and you know the run game is terrible then what are you really caring about? Are you caring about the crowd that was watching the podcast or are you caring about the success of our team and the Super Bowl that we're trying to reach?"
Parsons took note of the critique, and he responded in a since-deleted post on social media.
"Just wish you said this to me but instead on some podcast! And you got my number family! @MalikHooker24 and you my locker mate!" his post read, per . "So you coulda said this any day! And you do realize I shoot the podcast on our off day! I why ain't we talking about everyone preparations and focus."
Parsons kicked off his podcast, The Edge with Micah Parsons, in 2023 to coincide with the start of the regular season, and he released episodes weekly to share his reactions to recent games, both the Cowboys' and others across the league.
He approached the show with transparency and honest opinions, often leading to quotable sound bites, but his time in front of a microphone doesn't seem to have affected his preparation on the field through the first year.
Parsons, the leader of Dallas' defense, is coming off a career-high 14 sacks and has never tallied fewer than 13 in his three seasons. He's also never finished worse than third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and the Cowboys defense has been a terror since he's arrived. The unit has finished in the top 10 in scoring for three straight seasons for the first time since the 1990s, a period of greatness fans of the franchise long to return to.
Plus, vocally engaging narratives is somewhat the Cowboy way, led from the top by owner Jerry Jones.
But Hooker is still entitled to his opinion on how best to approach any incoming hiccups in switching from Dan Quinn's scheme to the one installed by new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. A 15-game starter last year, he's an important veteran voice whose philosophies could also keep incoming rookies like defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland, linebacker Marist Liufau and defensive back Caelen Carson grounded.
The comments regarding Parsons' podcasting from both teammates were largely innocuous, although the topic could always be revisited again should the Cowboys run into more regular-season trouble in 2024 than they have in the past several years.
