Getty Dallas Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse celebrates after a big play.
The 2022 NFL season is right around the corner and one Dallas Cowboys starter is making it very clear where his focus is at.
Jayron Kearse is coming off his first year with the Cowboys, starting at safety in 15 regular-season games, which also turned out to be his best year since entering the league in the 2016 NFL draft. The Cowboys rewarded Kearse with a two-year deal this past spring, and it’s clear he’s not resting on his laurels.
Kearse’s teammate and fellow Cowboys safety Malik Hooker spoke out about the buzz over Madden 23 ratings, saying, “Lmao Welp It’s Definitely Football Season All These Tweets Is Folks Talking about Madden Ratings Fenna Deactivate.”
Kearse echoed the sentiment, but with some vulgar flair.
“More worried about really stepping on s*** this year f*** a madden rating!!” the Cowboys safety wrote.
It’s not the first time this offseason that a Cowboys player has addressed the new Madden 23 ratings, but it is evident that Kearse and Hooker are both overhearing about the game’s newest developments.
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Kearse Excels With Cowboys, Gets Paid
When the Cowboys signed Kearse in free agency last year, the safety was handed a “prove-it” deal. Spotrac shows the former Clemson Tiger only earned $1.27 million in 2021.
It made sense. Kearse had only made 12 career starts before arriving in Dallas, and had just completed a lackluster season with the Detroit Lions, where he only registered two passes defended and no interceptions in 11 games.
In his first season with the Cowboys, Kearse brought down two interceptions, earned a sack, and eclipsed 100 tackles for the first time in his career, according to PFR.
Rather than introducing another new face to the roster, Dallas rewarded Kearse with a two-year, $10 million contract. However, it still incentivizes Kearse to continue upward in 2022, as his base salary for the 2023 season is $4 million, which is over double his 2022 salary of $1.5 million.
Micah Parsons Sounds Off on Madden 23
While Kearse and Hooker are trying to tune out the noise related to Madden 23, Cowboys star linebacker Micah Parsons is making his own opinions on the ratings heard.
The video game franchise recently announced the 10 fastest running backs in Madden 23, and Cowboys RB Tony Pollard makes the list. However, he was rated as a 93 in speed, which ties him with Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry, among others.
Parsons took clear issue with Henry’s placement above Pollard on the Top 10 list, although Henry and Pollard share the same stat in the game.
“Madden no way in hell y’all got Derrick Henry faster than my man Tony pollard !! No way!!” Parsons posted on Twitter on July 20.
In terms of running backs that were given an outright better speed stat, only Minnesota Vikings RB Kene Nwangwu, Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor and Miami Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert were rated higher than Pollard’s 93.
While Parsons is speaking out, he’s also been appearing in new commercials and promos for Madden 23. His most prominent ad shows the Cowboys linebacker “moving” a set of bleachers as part of a strength test.