Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said that Micah Parsons is not participating in the team’s second set of OTAs, according to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.
The All-Pro edge rusher did attend the first day of OTAs last week, but was not present for subsequent practices.
All eyes have been on Parsons’ ongoing contract negotiations this offseason. Extensions for Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby have turned up the pressure on Dallas to get a deal done. Parsons has said that he wants to finalize an agreement before training camp so he can “hit the ground running,” but he is prepared to stage a hold-in if that doesn’t happen.
The Cowboys last set of OTAs is scheduled for the first week of June, followed by mandatory minicamp the week after. The team will then break until training camp starts in July, which should give the two sides plenty of time to reach an agreement that will likely make Parsons the NFL’s highest-paid defender (and perhaps the highest-paid non-quarterback).
Parsons’ negotiations appear to be taking a similar progression to those of CeeDee Lamb. Lamb skipped OTAs and mandatory minicamp last year and staged a holdout well into training camp until he finally signed a four-year, $136MM deal. However, Lamb had to compete for the Cowboys’ attention with Dak Prescott also demanding a new contract last summer, while the team has no such distractions this year.
At this point, it’s unclear what gap remains in negotiations. Parsons has repeatedly proven himself to be one of the best defenders in the league and the market at his position has been clearly defined this offseason. One report in April indicated that the two sides had agreed on the framework of an extension, but the Cowboys’ lack of communication with Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, could be holding up a finalized agreement on the contract’s exact structure and guarantees.
Incredible how long this has gone on. I wish that they would ditch the fifth-year option. At the very least, allow players to hold out if they are unhappy with their contract status.
Cowboys delaying the inevitable. The Cowboys will sign him the day before opening day. He still should be traded in a Herchel Walker type trade to rebuild the team completely. The Cowboys won’t win a SB with Dak. Zero sense of urgency
The Herchel trade is a benchmark trade that happened when I was in college 40 years ago. Teams are each much more aligned with similar thinking now.
No one is going to mortgage 8 years of the future for one player. Unless it is accidental and one team hits on their picks.
But still i get your point and agree.
I imagine Jerry has medications for everything including high blood pressure…so he isn’t going to get into a panic about this.