Blogging The Boys
ESPN said what we are all thinking relative to a pending Micah Parsons extension for the Cowboys.
Promptness has not exactly been a thing for the Dallas Cowboys as of late. Think back on all of the major, big-time extensions that they have brokered in recent memory. While there are examples of them getting ahead of the curve (Trevon Diggs is the most recent), the 2024 calendar year served as almost a daily reminder of their unwillingness to do so again as they took things down to the eleventh hour with both CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott. Remember that the former held out through training camp and that the latter had his deal done on literally the day that the season began.
Dragging feet cost the Cowboys an opportunity to be aggressive in free agency last year and what’s more is they dragged some of it into this year as well. Last year should have been when the Cowboys jumped on an extension for Micah Parsons as it was the first offseason in which he was eligible for one, but the team barely got over the finish line with Lamb and Prescott and decided to put off work on Parsons as a problem for their future selves.
Welcome to the future. The problem is here.
Whether or not you were a proponent for extending Lamb and/or Prescott last year, the logic behind advocating for it to happen as soon as possible was what mattered the most. If you know/believe you are going to extend a player, then history overwhelmingly tells us that the sooner you get it done the better.
Last year saw several other wide receivers and quarterbacks get paid before Lamb and Prescott which drove the market price higher than it was when the offseason began. Understanding this basic principle and living within the confines of it is a necessary thing for NFL teams or people who operate in the world at large.
This is why it would have made sense for the Cowboys to get an extension done with Parsons last year. In not doing so, the Cowboys allowed for the market to rise in a general sense, but if they wait even longer they could see extensions happen for Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby and/or Trey Hendrickson which would have the same impact on Parsons as other deals had on Lamb and Prescott.
What’s more, there is enormous incentive for the Cowboys to get something done with Parsons - as there was with Lamb and Prescott - as it will lower his cap number for this year and therefore allow the team more financial flexibility to add to the roster (something Parsons wants to see the Cowboys do in aggressive fashion).
ESPN put it well recently in noting that there is literally no reason why this should not happen as soon as possible (even though the team did burn...
