Blogging The Boys
Micah Parsons was present at Cowboys minicamp, but did not participate in any drills.
When it comes to how you act while you are negotiating a contract extension in the NFL, there are several schools of thought.
One can choose to show up and participate regardless of what is going on around them. Others can opt to not be present at mandatory events and be willing to incur fines as a result. This is the path that T.J. Watt and Trey Hendrickson, two of the NFL’s best pass rushers, took this week.
This is all relevant for Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons as he is in the middle of contract negotiations himself. Parsons was present as the team began its mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, but reportedly did not participate in any drills.
Some refer to this kind of move as a “hold in” where a player is present, and therefore not subject to fines, but doesn’t involve themselves in any activity where they could be injured. It is an evolution of sorts on the holdout that has been around forever.
It is hard to say if that is exactly what Parsons was doing on Tuesday. Not participating could have been a decision that he made or the team could have been giving him the day off. Maybe the lack of participation was to allow him time to discuss whatever he discussed with Jerry Jones for almost half an hour.
The team’s minicamp runs through Thursday so it is possible that we get some sort of answers before then. Until any more leaves fall, to use Jerry Jones’ parlance, we’ll continue to have to speculate.
