(Editor's Note: Who doesn't love lists? Throughout training camp, 'High 5' will provide a top five list for many of the critical topics surrounding the Dallas Cowboys 2025 season.)
For all the history between the Cowboys and Packers, this Sunday will be an entirely new wrinkle in the storied rivalry. From the multiple playoff battles, the "Dez caught it" game, the Ice Bowl, and the embarrassment of 2023, the Micah Parsons trade adds yet another moment that could be talked about for decades.
Because of the success that both organizations have been fortunate enough to experience, it's inevitable that star players will leave for other opportunities. However, Dallas has been extremely fortunate that most of their superstars have spent their entire career in Dallas or at least finished their career with the team.
Making Micah one of a handful of players who have made a highly anticipated homecoming, but not the only high-profile return to Texas Stadium or AT&T Stadium in the past. Here are the five most notable players who returned to play against the Cowboys in Dallas:
5. Ezekiel Elliott
Until Parsons officially takes the field this Sunday, Ezekiel Elliott is the highest-profile player to have returned to AT&T Stadium in an opposing uniform. Elliott spent the first seven years of his career tallying three Pro Bowl honors, two rushing titles, and finished as Dallas' third-leading rusher in franchise history.
After a down year in 2022, Elliott was released by the Cowboys in March of 2023 and signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots that Summer. Ironically, also in Week 4 of the 2023 season, Elliott made his return to AT&T Stadium to face his former team. Following an emotional pregame video, he was held to just 16 rushing yards on six carries by the Cowboys defense in a 38-3 Dallas win.
4. Everson Walls
Everson Walls was Dallas' interception king that took the NFL by storm with 11 interceptions as a rookie and seven more in his second season. He spent nine seasons with the Cowboys and earned three first-team All-Pro honors, four Pro Bowls, and three interceptions crowns before being waived at the end of the 1989 season following a locker room incident and lack of production.
Walls signed a two-year deal with the New York Giants before the 1990 season, joining head coach Bill Parcells and defensive coordinator Bill Belichick. The Giants traveled to Dallas for Week 2, where Walls secured an interception against his former team when Troy Aikman attempted a Hail Mary at the end of the first half. New York won the game, 28-7.
3. Ken Norton Jr.
The ultimate "cap casualty," Ken Norton Jr. was a critical part of the 1992 and 1993 Cowboys Super Bowl teams. Dallas would've loved to hold on to their start linebacker, but as the NFL instituted the salary cap before the 1994 season, Norton was one of a few talented players Dallas moved on from.
Norton could've signed with any team in the NFL during the 1994 free agency period, but he signed with a direct Super Bowl contender in the NFC by joining the San Francisco 49ers. After playing against the Cowboys twice in 1994 on his way to a third-straight Super Bowl title, Norton finally made his return to Texas Stadium on November 12, 1995. His 49ers handed Dallas their second loss of the season after an 8-1 start, defeating the Cowboys 38-20 in Week 11.
2. Micah Parsons
Take all the extra storylines out of the equation, Micah Parsons' homecoming to AT&T Stadium would be a monumental day because of how talented a player he is. Four seasons, four Pro Bowls, two First-Team All-Pro honors, and the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, all in Dallas. But add the extra storylines into the fold, it takes a monumental story to an astronomical one.
It all started with the negotiations, then spilled into training camp, then a powerful trade request, followed by a blockbuster trade to the Green Bay Packers. Week 4 marks his return just 31 days after being traded. Making Parsons just the second former All-Pro since 1995 to face his former team less than a month after departing the organization, joining Randy Moss (2010).
1. Emmitt Smith
The NFL's all-time leading rusher made his name with the Cowboys but ended his playing days with the Arizona Cardinals. Smith finished the 2002 season with 17.162 career rushing yards and passed Walter Payton to break the NFL's career rushing yards record during that campaign. Shortly thereafter, he'd see his time in Dallas come to an end as the team elected to release Smith in February of 2023.
Less than a month later, Smith signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals to continue his playing career. In Week 5, he made his return to Texas Stadium and spent the day in a red jersey and the visitors' locker room. In the newly released Netflix documentary "America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys," Smith admitted a moment of emotion upon arrival to the visitor's locker room.
"I'm in the wrong place," Smith said in the moment. "It broke my heart into a thousand pieces, and I realized right then and there, that I could not separate the game of football from the Dallas Cowboys."
He finished the game with six carries for -1 rushing yard before he left the game in the second quarter with a broken left shoulder blade. Arizona lost the game 24-7.
