One of the NFL’s most anticipated games early in the season occurs in Week 4 when the Green Bay Packers (2-1) and edge rusher Micah Parsons visit the Dallas Cowboys (1-2).

The game will get plenty of spotlight on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” and Parsons’ return to Dallas after being traded to Green Bay will draw considerable attention during the days leading up to the contest.

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Cowboys fans will likely cheer Parsons in welcoming him back after he played four seasons in Dallas, during which he compiled 52.5 sacks, 112 quarterback hits, 261 tackles and 9 forced fumbles. He was named to four Pro Bowls, twice earned first-team All-Pro honors and won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in a Cowboys uniform.

However, team owner Jerry Jones said the team is not planning any sort of pregame tribute to recognize Parsons’ time with the Cowboys.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Jones told reporters, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “Emmitt [Smith] was a different story. But that’s not to diminish Micah. I think Micah’s got enough welcome out there. We just need to show we’ve got antidotes for that.”

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Jones may have a point in comparing Parsons’ return to Smith’s. Smith played 13 seasons for the Cowboys and was on three Super Bowl championship teams. Parsons may have been a dominant pass rusher for Dallas, but his career isn’t nearly as accomplished nor as impactful in franchise history in comparison to Smith.

The Hall of Famer was also released by Dallas in 2003 when then-coach Bill Parcells wanted to play younger running backs. As inglorious an end as that may have been for Smith, he didn’t develop an acrimonious relationship with Jones that eventually resulted in him demanding to be traded, as Parsons did.

Tensions increased and communications deteriorated to the point where the Cowboys apparently felt they had no choice but to trade a star who had become disgruntled and may have left after the 2025 season, unless Dallas put a franchise tag on him.

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However, Jones declining any sort of formal recognition for a star player who was enormously popular with the fan base appears to confirm that hard feelings exist. It’s also possible — perhaps likely — that Jones wants no part of a negative reaction from the crowd at Cowboys Stadium who may still resent the team for trading away one of its best players.

Winning the game wouldn’t be the last word in the situation. But as Jones alluded to, the Cowboys (1-2) would help quiet lingering bitterness with a win over the Packers (2-1), considered one of the best teams in the NFC.