Blogging The Boys
This has been a very lengthy process.
As the regular season approaches, the standoff between Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys continues. Parsons is not practicing with the team as his camp and the Cowboys’ front office haven’t been able to reach an agreement on a contract extension that would give him long-term security beyond the final year of his rookie deal.
Things escalated quickly, as Parsons’ public trade request on Aug. 1 came less than two weeks after his training camp hold-in began when the Cowboys reported to Oxnard, Calif. The messy situation, though, has been building for a while.
Feb. 9, 2024: “I’m not going to rush the process”
After Parsons completed his third NFL season in January 2024, there wasn’t much ambiguity on his standing among his peers. Parsons won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021 and was voted first-team All-Pro in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, Parsons was a second-team All-Pro and became the first player in NFL history to finish top-three in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting in each of his first three seasons.
Per the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, the Cowboys were able to sign Parsons to an extension after his third season. However, coming off an embarrassing playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys had two major pieces of business to handle, as quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb were both entering the final year of their deals and were due top-of-the-market extensions. Including the fifth-year option, Parsons had two years left on his contract.
Parsons made his intentions about remaining in Dallas clear, but he also appeared to understand the pecking order.
“I know they’ve got to get CeeDee Lamb done. I think that’s the priority right now,” Parsons said on NFL Network ahead of that year’s Super Bowl. “If they’re ready to talk about a deal and get a deal done, I’ll be super excited. I’m ready to be a Cowboy for life.”
When he was asked about it periodically throughout the 2024 offseason, Parsons spoke about his desire to get an extension done but also made it clear that he was content waiting until 2025. Lamb’s holdout was the big story throughout that offseason, until the Cowboys signed him to an extension in late August last year. Dallas signed Prescott to a four-year extension on the morning of the first game of the season in Cleveland.
Sept. 26, 2024: Ankle injury
During the Cowboys’ Week 4 win over the New York Giants, Parsons suffered a high ankle sprain, which would cost him the next four games. It was the first time in Parsons’ career that he missed games due to injury.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones brought...
