With the first few waves of free agency in the books, teams can turn their attention to working out extensions in a number of cases. That includes Micah Parsons and the Cowboys, although no agreement on that front is expected any time soon.

Parsons is set to play on his fifth-year option in 2025, but a long-term pact will come at a much higher price than his scheduled $24.01MM for next season. An extension may not require making the four-time Pro Bowler the league’s highest-paid edge rusher; nevertheless, the new deals for Maxx Crosby (Raiders) and Myles Garrett (Browns) have raised the top of the position’s market. Garrett’s Cleveland extension carries an annual average value of $40MM, a figure which will no doubt play a role in Cowboys-Parsons negotiations.

Recent reporting on that front indicated serious contract talks have yet to take place, and NFL Network’s Jane Slater adds no offer has been submitted at this point. Parsons and owner Jerry Jones have been in communication “many times” during the offseason, per Slater, which comes as no surprise. The 25-year-old indicated last month a plan was in place regarding an extension, and preliminary talks opened up earlier in March. This latest update makes it clear, however, that considerable work is still to be done for an agreement to be reached.

Parsons missed only one game across his first three seasons in Dallas, recording between 13 and 14 sacks each year. The Penn State product was limited to 13 contests in 2024, but he still managed 12 sacks and 46 quarterback pressures (the second-highest total of his career). Expectations will be high for continued production on a multi-year deal, one which will of course take into account the cap commitments already made to the likes of quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Dallas had DeMarcus Lawrence in place as part of a starting tandem with Parsons for four years, but the team did not make an offer to the former before seeing him depart for Seattle as a free agent. Veteran Dante Fowler returned to the Cowboys, and he joins an edge rush group which also features recent draftees Sam Williams and Marshawn Kneeland. Retaining cost-effective options at the position will of course be key with Parsons representing a major long-term cap commitment once his deal is in place.

Per Slater, discussions between team and player took place at the Combine but nothing substantive has transpired since then. She adds Parsons’ camp is open to further talks at any time, and it will be interesting to see if negotiations are pursued in the near future as a result.

Midway through the 2024 campaign, Micah Parsons indicated his preference would be for a Cowboys extension to be in place before the start of free agency. That has not proven to be the case, and nothing is imminent between team and player in this situation.

Preliminary talks started earlier this month, opening the lines of communication in advance of what will be a massive extension agreement. Parsons recently noted a plan is in place regarding a deal being worked out, with training camp emerging as the new target with respect to a timeline. No progress has been made at this point, however, WFAA’s Ed Werder reports.

The edge rush market was well-known as one to watch in advance of the 2025 offseason, and as expected it has seen upward movement. Maxx Crosby‘s latest Raiders deal carries an average annual value $35.5MM, a mark which did not last long atop the position’s pecking order. Myles Garrett‘s trade request was rescinded in the wake of his monster extension (four years, $160MM) which was signed days later. Parsons could use those new price points during negotiations once they ramp up.

On that point, NFL Network’s Jane Slater reports serious contract talks have not begun yet. Dallas prioritized new deals for quarterback Dak Prescott and wideout CeeDee Lamb last offseason, eventually working out an agreement on both fronts. Considering Lamb’s came about after training camp began and Prescott’s was made official on the day of the Cowboys’ regular season opener, plenty of time could still be required for Parsons’ new pact to be signed.

The 25-year-old has been a Pro Bowler during each of his four seasons in the NFL, recording at least 12 sacks every time along the way (despite missing four games in 2024). Those factors will help his bargaining position, especially if the Steelers and T.J. Watt hammer out an extension in the near future and if Trey Hendrickson lands a lucrative new deal with the Bengals or an acquiring team. Parsons has publicly stated a willingness to take less than the top of the market on his next deal, but any long-term pact will of course have considerable cap implications for the Cowboys.

Dallas saw DeMarcus Lawrence depart on a Seahawks deal last week after not making an offer to the 11-year veteran. Parsons (who is currently set to play on his $24.01MM fifth-year option next season) remains in the fold as the team’s anchor along the edge, with recent draftees Sam Williams and Marshawn Kneeland along with reunited veteran Dante Fowler also in place. That group will be key in 2025, the first year with Matt Eberflus in place as defensive coordinator. Attending voluntary offseason workouts this spring is something the team will discuss with Parsons, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News writes. Whether or not traction will have been gained by then will remain an interesting storyline to follow.

Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons has been extremely vocal about wanting to remain in Dallas under an extended contract, especially over the last three months. In what has become typical Cowboys fashion, though, talks between the two parties have not started, according to Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News.

To be clear, this seems to directly conflict with a report from just over a week ago from the team’s website, following a meeting between Parsons and team owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones. After the meeting, Parsons stated that the talks went well and that “there’s definitely a plan in place.” The more recent report from Watkins seems to indicate that Jones and company didn’t take Parsons’ plan as seriously as Parsons did.

Typically, as Watkins points out, team officials will wait for the NFL Scouting Combine to start contract talks with players’ agents. While Parsons and Jones met in the building where Parsons laid out his expectations for what the team’s website called “an exceptionally complex and lucrative contract,” it appears the source with knowledge of the situation communicating with Watkins is indicating that those preliminary talks were just window dressing until the real talks with Parsons’ agents can begin.

This continues a worrying trend wherein Jones and the Cowboys seem to be operating with no sense of urgency. Waiting to secure extensions for quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb last year cost the Cowboys millions as other players around the league set new markets at the same positions with their own extensions. Jones’ baffling decision to let former head coach Mike McCarthy‘s contract expire instead of firing him earlier not only gave every other team with an opening a head start on interviewing and hiring replacement head coaches, but he also allowed the assistant coaches’ contracts to expire. When he eventually promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the top position, the new head coach was unable to retain many of his assistants from 2024 as they had already started to explore other opportunities following the expiration of their deals.

In addition, not only have the Cowboys seemingly not been working night and day to retain their best defensive player (perhaps their best player overall) on a long-term deal, but there have also been internal discussions about trading the star pass rusher. With how unabashed Parsons has been about wanting to stay in Dallas, it’s truly stunning to see the Cowboys continue to slow play the situation and explore other options.

Speculation about how Micah Parsons‘ contract situation will play out will no doubt continue until a deal is officially in place. The Cowboys’ All-Pro edge rusher recently provided an update on that front indicating traction could soon be gained.

Parsons and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently met to discuss an extension which will tie him to the franchise for the foreseeable future. A deal moving the 25-year-old near the top of the edge rush market (if not to the top of the pecking order) can be expected, although he has publicly noted becoming the NFL’s highest-paid pass rusher may not be necessary to get a deal done. Parsons spoke positively about the nature of his latest conversations with Jones.

“It was good,” the four-time Pro Bowler said (via the team’s website). “I really have a lot of respect for Jerry. We have great conversations all the time. There’s definitely a plan in place, but we’ll just see how everything plays out. There’s been no progress yet, but I’m pretty confident that something will happen, so we’ll see.”

A lack of inroads being made with respect to term and finances on a long-term pact is certainly a noteworthy remark on Parsons’ part. The Penn State product made it clear in December his preference would be to have a deal in place before the start of free agency, although more recently he moved that timeline to the onset of training camp. In any case, a lengthy wait would come as little surprise given how the Cowboys have operated in recent years.

Dallas’ 2024 offseason was defined in large part by the extensions worked out with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. The latter engaged in a training camp holdout until his pact was in place, while the news of the former’s record-breaking accord broke hours before the start of the regular season. If Jones and the Cowboys opt for a similar approach with Parsons, it may very well take until the summer for an agreement to be reached.

Set to play on the fifth-year option in 2025, Parsons is due just over $24MM this season. A multi-year pact will check in at a much high price, though, and fitting in a massive raise while balancing the Prescott and Lamb accords will be difficult from a cap perspective. The Cowboys have attempted to shoot down trade speculation, but a report from Super Bowl Sunday indicated Parsons was not pleased with the decision to move on from former head coach Mike McCarthy and added the team has held discussions about the possibility of a trade.

In the absence of anything on that front materializing, attention will continue to be focused on extension talks. Parsons’ latest comments prove no firm timeline exists, but if the plan the parties understand to be in place is followed, he will have a new pact in hand sometime this offseason.

Cowboys star edge rusher Micah Parsons, who is entering the fifth-year option season of his rookie deal, has said he is hoping to hammer out an extension with Dallas at some point prior to training camp, but that was before the club elected not to retain head coach Mike McCarthy. As Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com write, Parsons called that decision “devastating,” and the normally candid defender has been quiet since the team promoted Brian Schottenheimer to the HC post.

One would not expect the McCarthy decision to be an insurmountable obstacle to a Parsons-Cowboys re-up, a deal that has been discussed for some time. However, like fellow standout EDGE Myles Garrett, who has requested a trade from the Browns, Parsons may see the Cowboys as a club that could be in something of a transition phase.

In addition, Dallas has both QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb on deals at or near the top of the market for their respective positions, and Parsons is on track to top the highly-lucrative pass rusher market (currently paced by Nick Bosa’s $34.2MM AAV). And, depending on when he signs his deal relative to positional peers like Garrett, T.J. Watt, Maxx Crosby, and Trey Hendrickson – all of whom are older than Parsons and arguably not as talented – Parsons could leave Bosa’s number in the dust.

Cowboys COO Stephen Jones recently said team brass will evaluate the wisdom of having so much money tied up in so few players, though he also indicated he did not envision Parsons playing for any team other than Dallas. However, Pelissero and Rapoport hear that the team has at least had some internal discussions about whether to trade the Penn State product.

If the Cowboys do entertain a trade, the return could be staggering (some league execs and coaches believe Garrett, who is three years Parsons’ senior, could fetch a haul including two Day 1 picks). Parsons, who is entering his age-26 season, has strung together four remarkable years that have him on a surefire Hall of Fame trajectory. Strong against the run and dominant when rushing the passer, Parsons is 4-for-4 in Pro Bowl nods and has two First Team All-Pro bids as well (to go along with several near misses in Defensive Player of the Year voting and even some down-ballot MVP consideration in 2022). Despite missing some time due to injury in 2024, Parsons tallied 12 sacks, bringing his career total to 52.5 (an average of over 13 per year).

It would be easy to see a team ponying up the draft capital and the contract necessary to get a deal done, but it would still be surprising if the Cowboys moved on from a talent like Parsons (especially since the team presumably does not see itself in a transitional posture). Indeed, Clarence Hill Jr. of ALL CITY DLLS unequivocally states that such a trade will not happen, and Joel Corry of CBS Sports expects Dallas and Parsons to come to terms on a new contract over the next few months.

Nonetheless, the possibility creates one more intriguing storyline in a 2025 pass rusher market that is rife with them.

Both Micah Parsons and the Cowboys have expressed interest in keeping the dynamic edge rusher in Dallas for the foreseeable future. Of course, that would require a long-term agreement between the two sides, as Parsons is currently set to enter the 2025 season as an impending free agent.

[RELATED: Micah Parsons Aiming For Cowboys Extension Prior To Free Agency]

While Parsons previously expressed optimism that an extension could be completed before the start of this offseason’s free agency, it sounds like the veteran is starting to move the goalposts on his expectations. While speaking to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Parsons said he “would think” or “[would] hope” that the two sides can agree on a new deal before the start of training camp in late July.

Both sides have said all the right things over the past few months. Parsons has stated his desire to have his number retired in Dallas, while Jerry Jones made it clear that the former first-round pick is a pillar of the organization (alongside Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb). While both the Cowboys and Parsons’ camp seem to have the same goal, that doesn’t necessarily mean that negotiations will be easy.

As Archer notes, Lamb’s negotiations with the Cowboys saw a similar start. Both sides were receptive to a long-term pact, and the pressure started to mount when Lamb was entering the final season of his rookie contract (via the fifth-year option), much like Parsons is now. However, those negotiations dragged on and on, with Lamb finally inking his extension in late August.

“You know, everybody puts a lot on when [the contract is] done,” Jones said when asked about completing extensions as early as possible. “Signing Dak when he signed and signing Lamb, it had nothing to do one way or the other with their injuries, the good things that happened or the negative things that happened. … It makes me wonder if you really think people are really that fragile. Fragile in their mentality. Fragile in their personal self. My point is no, it does not. And a lot of us live not having all the things buttoned up. … And so I don’t believe the timing [is an issue]. What I would really hang your hat on is how much we paid him and what he needs to be and what he is. That’s the big thing.”

Archer opines that inking Parsons early would better help the Cowboys navigate the offseason. Further, an extension could help to reduce the player’s cap hit for the 2025 campaign, making it even easier to add talent as the organization looks to return to contention. Plus, the two sides could avoid the lingering story line of a potential holdout; Archer notes that Parsons’ past attendance at offseason programs has been “spotty.”

One thing is certain: Parsons’ second NFL contract will pay him handsomely. The three-time All-Pro recipient has established himself as one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, with Parsons collecting 52.5 sacks through four seasons in the league.