Cowboys Willing To Listen To Micah Parsons Trade Offers?
Since Micah Parsons issued his trade request, it has not appeared likely that a deal sending him away from Dallas will take place. The team’s stance on this front could be changing. 
The Cowboys now “appear willing to at least listen” to Parsons trade offers, ESPN’s Todd Archer, Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano report. Calls have come in over recent weeks amidst the ongoing lack of progress regarding extension talks. As of last week, however, general managers around the league did not view a Parsons trade as being feasible.
Owner Jerry Jones has publicly stated Dallas will not trade the two-time All-Pro. Indeed, the ESPN report notes nothing is considered imminent at this time. It comes as no surprise a market exists for Parsons, but it would still come as a major shock if any move sending him out of Dallas were to take place (especially at this point in the offseason). Per the report, the Cowboys are aiming for a resolution of some kind before their season opener next week.
A number of outcomes remain possible, including a long-term pact being worked out just before Week 1. Jones reportedly offered an extension which would have made Parsons the league’s highest-paid edge rusher when speaking with the 26-year-old this spring. The ESPN trio adds further context on that point, noting the Cowboys’ offer was five years in length and averaged $40.5MM per season. Dialogue since then has been sparse, with both sides exchanging public remarks and agent David Mulugheta’s involvement in negotiations proving to be a major sticking point.
Crucially, the ESPN piece notes (and All City DLLS’ Clarence Hill Jr. confirms) Mulugheta has yet to receive permission from the Cowboys to discuss an extension with any potential acquiring team. No trade would take place, of course, without an agreement in hand on a multi-year accord for the four-time Pro Bowler. No firm links have been made yet to interested teams in terms of the details of any trade offer, but a Wednesday report indicated the Packers are among the potential destinations if a swap is to take place.
Parsons is on the books for one more season, and the Cowboys could retain him via the franchise tag for 2026 and ’27. The value of his fifth-year option is a matter of dispute, based on the position he is classified as. For now, the former Defensive Rookie of the Year is slated to collect $21.32MM as a defensive end; a switch to outside linebacker would increase his option valuation to $24.01MM. A grievance has been filed, so the matter will remain unresolved pending a conclusion to the case or a compromise being agreed to.
So far in his career, Parsons has racked up 52.5 sacks in 63 regular season games. The Penn State product would be an attractive trade target for any number of teams, but the list of suitors will be dictated by the number of teams with sufficient draft capital to swing a deal along with the cap space to accommodate a massive Parsons extension. The presence of one more teams meeting those criteria could create a bidding war, but only if Jones and the Cowboys truly open the door to dealing him away. Dallas’ willingness to do so will certainly be worth watching over the coming days.
Packers Interested In Micah Parsons Trade; Cowboys DE Files Grievance Over Fifth-Year Option Salary
The hold-ins keeping Terry McLaurin and Trey Hendrickson off the field have come to an end this week. No resolution on the Micah Parsons front appears imminent, however. 
Parsons’ trade request still stands, and the thought of a departure from the Cowboys will remain a talking point until and unless an extension agreement can be reached. By and large, teams do not view a Parsons trade as being viable and Dallas does not intend to pull off a deal. At least one potential suitor is worth watching in this case, though.
Whispers about the Packers looking into a Parsons trade have picked up recently, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports the team is indeed “interested.” Of course, that would no doubt apply to any number of potential landing spots for the All-Pro edge rusher, and Florio cautions Green Bay’s interest is “nowhere near the smoke that’s out there.”
When speaking to the media on Wednesday, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was asked about the late-summer trade market. Without mentioning Parsons by name, he left the door open to a notable move taking place. If Green Bay were to swing a deal, pass rush could represent a logical target.
“You’re never one player away, but good players make impacts,’ Gutekunst said (via Ryan Wood of USA Today). “Any time there’s a player of that caliber you can acquire, you’re trying to.”
Parsons and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have escalated tensions over a lack of communication involving agent David Mulugheta regarding extension talks. Any new deal which is reached will no doubt make him the highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL, something Jones has stated he communicated a willingness over to Parsons when the two spoke this spring. In the absence of a long-term pact, though, a campaign spent on the fifth-year option is in store.
Parsons is slated to collect $24.01MM this season as a result, although Florio reports a grievance was filed earlier this offseason regarding the value of the one-year tender. Edge rushers often encounter situations such as this based on the variance in value between outside linebackers and defensive ends. Parsons is currently viewed by the Cowboys as a DE, something which would drop his option value to $21.32MM. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year and his camp, by contrast, are attempting to have him classified as an OLB.
A number Parsons’ Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods have come with him listed as a linebacker, but the key determinant in this situation is his most common position played in 2023 (his third NFL season). Circumstances such as this often result in a compromise being agreed to between team and player regarding the option value, but the Parsons-Jones relationship is – at least publicly – rather strained at the moment. That could complicate efforts to resolve this matter, which is of course small in comparison to extension talks.
A back issue has been present in Parsons’ case for much of the summer while he has remained a non-participant in training camp. The 26-year-old recently underwent an MRI which came back clean, but this layer to the ongoing saga may not be over. NFL Network’s Jane Slater reports Parsons is now seeking a second opinion on his back. It will be interesting to see what becomes of that endeavor.
Eight days remain until the Cowboys kick off the regular season; it remains unclear whether or not Parsons will suit up for that contest. Meanwhile, with a trade potentially seen as feasible, the Packers’ moves over the coming days will be worth watching closely.
Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC East
Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Cowboys, Commanders, Giants and Eagles moves are noted below.
Dallas Cowboys
Signed:
- OL Hakeem Adeniji, CB C.J. Goodwin
Claimed:
- DB Twikweze Bridges (from Chargers), DB Reddy Steward (from Vikings)
Waived:
- CB Andrew Booth, CB Zion Childress
Placed on IR:
- RB Phil Mafah (story), Caelen Carson
Signed to practice squad:
- LB Justin Barron, WR Jalen Brooks, DT Earnest Brown, G Saahdiq Charles, T Geron Christian, S Alijah Clark, WR Jalen Cropper, RB Malik Davis, TE Rivaldo Fairweather, TE Princeton Fant, QB Will Grier, CB Kemon Hall, WR Traeshon Holden, LB Buddy Johnson, DE Dayo Odeleye, CB Robert Rochell
New York Giants
Claimed:
- DB Beau Brade (from Ravens), DB Rico Payton (from Saints)
Released:
Signed to practice squad:
- DL Elijah Chatman, OLB Trace Ford, OLB Tomon Fox, DL Elijah Garcia, OL Bryan Hudson, WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, OL Jake Kubas, S Raheem Layne, K Jude McAtamney, RB Dante Miller, DL Jordon Riley, WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, CB Dee Williams
Philadelphia Eagles
Signed:
Claimed:
- C Willie Lampkin (from Rams)
Waived:
Signed to practice squad:
- LB Chance Campbell, WR Elijah Cooks, RB Audric Estime, G Kenyon Green, TE E.J. Jenkins, CB Brandon Johnson, OLB Patrick Johnson, TE Cameron Latu, WR Terrace Marshall, QB Kyle McCord, CB Parry Nickerson, T Hollin Pierce, OLB Antwaun Powell-Ryland, CB Eli Ricks, S Andre Sam
Washington Commanders
Signed to practice squad:
- DT Ricky Barber, WR Ja’Corey Brooks, TE Lawrence Cager, DT Sheldon Day, C Michael Deiter, CB Antonio Hamilton, QB Sam Hartman, DE Jalyn Holmes, WR Jacoby Jones, DE T.J. Maguranyanga, S Rob McDaniel, G Timothy McKay, WR Chris Moore, CB Car’lin Vigers
2025 NFL Waiver Order
Many of the players cut Tuesday were subject to waivers, giving teams a chance to pick them up (along with the rest of their contract). Teams can claim as many players as they want before the next team gets their remaining targets.
It’s also worth noting that relatively few players are claimed off waivers during final roster cuts each year. Waiver claims will be processed at 11am CT in the following order (via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo). In reverse order of the 2024 NFL standings, here is how the waiver priority sits:
- Titans
- Browns
- Giants
- Patriots
- Jaguars
- Raiders
- Jets
- Panthers
- Saints
- Bears
- 49ers
- Cowboys
- Dolphins
- Colts
- Falcons
- Cardinals
- Bengals
- Seahawks
- Buccaneers
- Broncos
- Steelers
- Chargers
- Packers
- Vikings
- Texans
- Rams
- Ravens
- Lions
- Commanders
- Bills
- Chiefs
- Eagles
Deuce Vaughn, La’el Collins Among Cowboys’ Cuts; Shavon Revel Lands On NFI List
Here are the Cowboys’ moves to pare their roster down to 53:
Released:
- OL Hakeem Adeniji
- DL Earnest Brown
- T Saahdiq Charles
- T Geron Christian
- OL La’el Collins
- CB C.J. Goodwin
- QB Will Grier
- CB Kemon Hall
- LB Darius Harris
- LB Buddy Johnson
- CB Israel Mukuamu
- CB Michael Ojemudia
- CB Robert Rochell
Waived:
- DT Tommy Akingbesote
- LB Justin Barron
- WR Jalen Brooks
- S Alijah Clark
- WR Jalen Cropper
- RB Malik Davis
- TE Rivaldo Fairweather
- TE Princeton Fant
- WR Traeshon Holden
- CB Troy Pride
- S Mike Smith
- RB Deuce Vaughn
- DE Tyrus Wheat
Placed on IR (return designation):
- DE Payton Turner
- WR Jonathan Mingo
Placed on reserve/PUP list:
Placed on reserve/NFI list:
- CB Shavon Revel
Revel’s timetable has remained murky, but this placement offers some clarity. The third-round rookie cornerback will miss at least four games after being transferred from the active/NFI list to the reserve/NFI list. While the Cowboys had aimed for Revel to play in September, his father’s comment about the ACL rehab effort pointed to a slightly lengthier recovery timetable. Revel suffered the tear in September 2024; he will now be out more than a year since the injury.
Vaughn has been with the Cowboys since they drafted him in the 2023 sixth round, but the team overhauled its backfield this offseason. Dallas signed Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders before drafting two RBs (Jaydon Blue, Phil Mafah). Vaughn could be retained on a practice squad deal, but teams cannot begin assembling their taxi squads until Wednesday.
Overshown is espected to miss most of the season after suffering a major knee injury in Week 14. Turner suffered broken ribs, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. While Turner and Mingo will count against Dallas’ in-season injury activations, dropping the number to six, Mafah will be carried on the active roster and then placed on IR.
Cowboys To Trade T Asim Richards To Saints
Tuesday’s third NFL trade will also be the third to involve an offensive tackle changing teams. Asim Richards is on the move. 
Richards is being traded from the Cowboys to the Saints, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The move will end his run in Dallas, which began in 2023 when he joined the team as a fifth-round pick. Over his two years in the league, Richards totaled 21 appearances and made one start. Per Schefter, the Cowboys will receive a 2028 sixth-round pick in exchange for Richards and a seventh-rounder that same year.
Healthy depth along the offensive line has recently emerged as an issue for the Saints. As a result, it comes as little surprise they are among the teams using the period before this afternoon’s cutdown deadline to make a move up front. New Orleans is in need of backups behind Kelvin Banks Jr. and Taliese Fuaga, so a swing tackle role could be in store for Richards.
The 24-year-old saw time as a guard during the preseason, so playing time along the interior could be possible as well. In any case, Richards will now turn his attention to carving out a second-team gig with the Saints instead of quite possibly being waived by the Cowboys later today. Dallas will generate $1.03MM in cap savings with this move, while New Orleans will take on the final two years of his rookie contract.
Dallas will move forward with Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele as starters at the tackle spots. The team’s depth chart beyond those two will become clearer over the coming days as the Cowboys’ practice squad takes shape. Today’s move ensures, though, that Richards will not be in the team’s plans for 2025.
Cowboys To Place RB Phil Mafah On IR
The Cowboys are planning to place rookie running back Phil Mafah on injured reserve with a return designation, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Mafah, a seventh-round pick, suffered a shoulder injury in the Cowboys’ final preseason game against the Falcons on Friday. He will be sidelined for at least the first four weeks of the regular season.
Dallas has carried three running backs (plus fullback Hunter Luepke) on their initial 53-man roster in each of the last two years. Two of those spots will be filled by Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders and Jaydon Blue. That left Mafah competing with 2023 sixth-rounder Deuce Vaughn and former UDFA Malik Davis to convince the team to roster a fourth running back.
Davis led the backfield statistically in the preseason with 70 rushing yards (50 of which came after contact), 7.8 yards per carry, and four runs of 10 yards or more, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). However, the Cowboys’ distribution of playing time suggests that Vaughn and Mafah were still ahead (in that order). With Mafah sidelined, Vaughn would be in line for a fourth RB roster spot – if it exists.
However, Mafah’s return designation means that he could be back as early as Week 5. The Cowboys’ top three running backs should be able to get the team through the first four games, at which point Mafah could be added back to the active roster as the RB4. That would allow Dallas to open up another roster spot during final cuts this week and figure out a way to make room for Mafah during the regular season.
Cowboys Begin Roster Cuts
Monday has seen the Cowboys make a number of roster moves. Several further cuts are needed before tomorrow afternoon, but these eight players have officially been let go:
Waived:
- G Nick Broeker
- DT Denzel Daxon
- WR Josh Kelly
- TE Tyler Neville
- CB Troy Pride
- TE John Stephens
Released:
Waived-injured:
Collins was informed of his release yesterday. The move ends his second Cowboys stint, one which began earlier this month. The 32-year-old made 71 starts during his first run in Dallas, but after spending 2022 as the Bengals’ right tackle he has has yet to make a regular season appearance. That is set to continue into the coming campaign.
Pride played two games for the Cowboys last season and represented a depth option at the cornerback spot given the team’s numerous injury issues at the moment. That group received a boost with yesterday’s news that Trevon Diggs has been activated from the PUP list, however, allowing him to begin the year on the active roster. Pride could be retained as depth on the practice squad if he clears waivers.
Matthew will revert to injured reserve once he passes through waivers. He is likely to be released via an injury settlement once that takes place. That would allow the 28-year-old to sign elsewhere once he is healthy.
Cowboys Plan To Carry CB Trevon Diggs On Active Roster
AUGUST 24: Diggs has passed his physical, per Tommy Yarrish of the Cowboys official website. That will take him off the PUP list and onto the active roster.
As we heard on Saturday, and as Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reiterates, this development does not guarantee that Diggs will be on the field in Week 1. Nonetheless, Yarrish says Diggs at least has a chance to be in the lineup for the regular season opener against the Eagles.
AUGUST 23: Trevon Diggs has continued to make progress in his recovery from January knee surgery. As team and player hoped, a stint on the Cowboys’ reserve/PUP list to start the campaign is unlikely. 
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Saturday (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) the Cowboys plan to carry Diggs on their active roster to start the season. A move to the PUP list would have ensured at least a four-game absence, but as of last month the two-time Pro Bowler made it clear he intended to play at some point in September. That will be possible given this decision.
It would come as a surprise if Diggs were to suit up for Week 1 given his missed time throughout training camp and the preseason. Still, a return shortly after that point would be key for the Cowboys given their other injuries at the cornerback spot. Third-round rookie Shavon Revel has also been sidelined all summer while rehabbing the ACL tear which ended his college career. Revel is a candidate for the reserve/PUP list and thus a delayed start to debut campaign.
Caelen Carson‘s hyperextended knee is likely to lead to missed time in the regular season, something which adds slightly more urgency to Diggs’ return. The 2021 All-Pro will reprise his starting gig alongside DaRon Bland when back at full strength. In the meantime, trade acquisition Kaiir Elam is on track to handle a notable role on his second team.
Diggs has four years remaining on his 2023 extension. None of his base salaries beyond the coming season ($14.5MM, 19.5MM, $20MM) are guaranteed, however, meaning a pay cut agreement or a parting of ways could be in store next spring. How the 26-year-old fares this season will be key in determining his future. Diggs was limited to two games in 2023 and 11 last year. Another prolonged absence seemed to be in store when his surgery took place, but it now appears that will not be the case.
Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer To Meet With Micah Parsons
The ongoing Cowboys-Micah Parsons contract saga saw another interesting twist during Dallas’ final preseason contest on Friday. In the third quarter of that game, Parsons – whose star status would have kept him on the sidelines even if he had an extension in place – lay on the medical table behind the team bench while the offense was on the field (as relayed by ESPN’s Todd Archer). He was also the only player not wearing a team jersey. 
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he would speak with Parsons about the matter on Sunday. This latest development comes amidst ongoing uncertainty regarding the All-Pro’s future. Serious extension talks have not taken place since the spring (if the conversation between Parsons and owner Jerry Jones can be classified as such) and with Week 1 approaching, no agreement appears to be imminent.
“Without talking to Micah, I need to figure out what he was doing and why he was doing it,” Schottenheimer said (via Archer). “So, until I talk to him, I’m obviously not going to talk about it.”
Jones’ latest round of public appearances have seen him state his offer to Parsons would have made him the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback. That could still turn out to be the case, although the cost of doing so would now include an annual average salary surpassing T.J. Watt‘s $41MM figure. Involving agent David Mulugheta in the negotiating process has proven to be a major sticking point; Jones and Mulugheta have not spoken since Parsons went public with a trade request.
Inquiries from interested teams have been made, although the widespread expectation around the league remains no Parsons swap will take place. The 26-year-old is a pending 2026 free agent, but the prospect of one or two franchise tags looms as a means of Dallas keeping him in the fold well beyond the coming campaign. Given the timeline along which high-profile Cowboys contract talks traditionally take place, there is of course still a strong chance a last-minute deal will be struck on the extension front.
Parsons has not participated in training camp while seeking an extension but also while dealing with back tightness. Injuries (legitimate or otherwise) are commonplace when it comes to players in his situation, and Schottenheimer noted Parsons underwent an MRI on Friday. He added the scan came back “pretty clean,” so missed time through injury should not be expected in the regular season. It is still uncertain, however, if the Cowboys’ defense will be at full strength or if a September holdout could be in store in the event Parsons does not sign a new contract in the coming days.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.