Although Micah Parsons may have surprised some by reporting for the start of the Cowboys’ offseason program, do not expect the star defensive end to be a participant anytime soon. Unless the Cowboys break from their recent extension timetable, that is.
Parsons has been clear in his desire for a Cowboys extension by training camp. Absent one, he is not expected to step on the field for workouts. Parsons said Tuesday he would still be attending Cowboys activities, as the team is transitioning at defensive coordinator (hiring Matt Eberflus). But he expressed doubt about participating in on-field workouts without a new contract, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota.
Players skipping minicamp has become a common offseason tactic amid negotiations, but it does not sound like Parsons will partake in such an effort. Hold-ins, however, are even more common during a CBA that makes training-camp holdouts difficult to wage. Zack Martin succeeded in his holdout, seeing the Cowboys turn his final two seasons from nonguaranteed to fully guaranteed, but Parsons appears to be planning to hold in while he learns Eberflus’ system at the team’s facility.
Of the two contract-related shutdown moves in play for Parsons, this is the preferable route for the team. But the Cowboys will see their recent extension timeline tested. Dallas completed its CeeDee Lamb re-up Aug. 26 while taking the extraordinarily rare step of waiting until hours before Week 1 to hammer out its higher-profile deal (Dak Prescott‘s market-resetting pact). Parsons is not exactly eager to follow in his teammates’ footsteps here.
“It’s extremely important,” Parsons said of a deal being done by camp, via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer. “You really see a lot of players struggle when guys aren’t participating in camp and they get off to slow starts. I want to hit the ground running.”
The Cowboys are still not making progress with Parsons, who has been connected to a defender-record-setting ask. The team appears ready to make Parsons the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, but it’s unclear by how much. While it is still early, Dallas has seen its top player’s price point change.
Parsons said last summer he saw the benefit in waiting for his extension — as opposed to joining other 2021 first-rounders in landing one last year — but noted in December he did not necessarily need a $40M-per-year deal. That stance certainly appears to have changed, thanks to where Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett have taken the market. Garrett became the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback in March, scoring a $40M-per-year extension to back off his Browns trade request. Ja’Marr Chase since followed with a $40.25M-AAV Bengals extension.
“You look at the market and see Maxx gets 35 1/2, 36 [AAV] and then you see guys that are older than you [be paid],” Parsons said (via Machota). “You can say that your production and versatility matches what they’re doing. … I would say I’m more in my prime than a lot of these other guys; they’re more in the second half of their careers.”
Parsons is not wrong. Garrett will turn 30 this year, while Crosby is going into his age-28 season. Also on the extension radar, T.J. Watt will play an age-31 season in 2025. Trey Hendrickson will as well. Set to turn 26 next month, Parsons will have a clear case to secure a better deal than what the Browns gave Garrett, which also included a defender-record $88.8M guaranteed at signing. The Cowboys having the league’s highest-paid player and third-highest-paid receiver provides a complication for their top 2025 extension candidate, and the team would have a 2026 franchise tag at its disposal if negotiations do not pick up.
The Prescott talks, though, show the danger that route can bring. Prescott upped his price by waiting, holding off on signing an extension in 2019, leading to a 2020 tag. He then scored player-friendly terms in 2021, helping set up his 2024 $60M-per-year windfall. Parsons certainly represents a cornerstone piece for the Cowboys, who would stand to see his price keep rising if they wait until Watt, Hendrickson and perhaps Aidan Hutchinson — who is a year younger than Parsons — agree to deals this year.
