Following Jerry Jones‘ latest comments on the Micah Parsons situation, the All-Pro pass rusher took the increasingly common step of scrubbing his X profile of Cowboys material. The Cowboys have been known to prolong negotiations, regardless of price hikes, and they are well down this road once again with another standout.
Multiple teams have inquired about Parsons’ availability, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said during a SportsCenter appearance. Nothing is moving on that front, as Dallas continues to hold tight during its latest contract saga.
That aligns with what we heard last week, with GMs indicating they have not gotten the sense Parsons is available following his trade request. Noting it would take a Herschel Walker-like offer for the Cowboys to move Parsons, Fowler points to team optimism a deal can still be finalized before the season. It should also be noted Parsons’ camp is less optimistic.
Jones attempting to go around high-powered agent David Mulugheta in negotiations has understandably irked Parsons, who employs an agent to negotiate his contract. The longtime Cowboys owner referencing a $200MM guarantee also reflects what is likely a five- or six-year Dallas extension offer. With the cap soaring annually, players are increasingly opting against long-term deals. The Cowboys prefer them, but it is notable Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb convinced the team to budge here by each scoring four-year extensions. It would surprise if Parsons signed for beyond four years, but Jones continues to reference his negotiations with the player — talks Parsons classified as informal — this offseason.
A Cowboys source mentioned the 49ers’ Nick Bosa situation re: Parsons. San Francisco did not have Bosa signed until four days before the 2023 regular season. Bosa played in Week 1 despite holding out until his extension was done. Parsons has spoken out about how not practicing during a negotiation can negatively impact a season, and he long preferred to have his deal done by training camp. The Cowboys are well past that artificial deadline, as these talks now remind of the Prescott and Lamb pace. Neither of those performers requested a trade, which is a notable difference between this Parsons back-and-forth and previous Cowboys extension struggles.
While Fowler adds Mulugheta certainly didn’t tell Jones to stick the team’s offer “up their (expletive),” the Cowboys going to these lengths to avoid dealing with one of the game’s top agents has been an interesting chapter. As our Nikhil Mehta mentioned Thursday, Jones taking this route is not out of character. But Parsons taking issue with it to the degree he has would seem to require the team to change course and huddle up with Mulugheta — if the intent is to finalize a deal before Week 1. The Cowboys’ Thursday-night assignment in Philadelphia to open the season also gives them less time than they had with Prescott last year.
Mentioning the Packers, Cardinals and Ravens as potential trade fits, Fowler outlines what would certainly be a robust market if the Cowboys did decide to explore what they top player would fetch in a trade. Of course, dealing Parsons would significantly weaken the 2025 Cowboys.
Jones mentioned during his Michael Irvin podcast conversation the prospect of franchise-tagging Parsons next year. That would be an option, but the Cowboys are not giving up on a 2025 deal yet.
Great owner
That corpse of an owner is an absolute joke.
If 40M per and 200M guaranteed was on the table… his agent should be fired. Not For Long… one injury or a down season and that offer is gone. Hold out, Hold in, doesn’t always work out.
Jerry waited and TJ Watt got $41 million per year, so now Parsons is probably going to want to at least want to match that. And if that number was offered in conversation with Parsons without his agent, then the offer wasn’t legitimately on the table. (This is assuming those numbers are real and not something Jones leaked.)
Jerrah wouldn’t exaggerate to the media would he? Don’t believe any number that gets leaked to the media about “what a player turned down”. Jerrah is his own worst enemy and is the sole reason that his team falls flat on its face each year. He hires yes-men for coaches, he thinks he’s a scout, his dopey kids are a chip off the old block, and he needlessly overpays for his stars by dragging these contract negotiations out til the last minute. Oh wait, I forgot, they’re America’s team (of the last century).
So did Parson’s purge his Twitter Cowboys tweets on his agents advice or did he go behind his back? 🙂
It’s tough to say because Jerry loves the theatrics with these deals, but I’m starting to believe a trade might be the final result here. Jerry has lost any touch he may have once had, either with team building or reality.