Blogging The Boys
How do you think things end with the Cowboys and Micah Parsons?
Micah Parsons has always known how to command the spotlight - something you’d think would endear Jerry Jones to him even more - but the All-Pro pass rusher set the internet on fire Friday with his announcement that he’s requested a trade amid an ongoing dispute in his contract negotiations.
What happens next is anyone’s guess. The Cowboys have always managed to sign players to deals when they really want to, though not without plenty of teeth gnashing, but Parsons is certainly a unique example given how vocal and candid he tends to be. That said, here are the three most likely conclusions to this feud, ranked in order.
The most likely outcome at this point is that no deal gets done before the end of the year, at which point the Cowboys would almost certainly use the franchise tag. Parsons could always sit out until a deal is done, but that’s a big risk that could see him lose millions by way of fines.
Besides, Parsons loves football too much to sit out an entire year, as evidenced in minicamp earlier this year.
The hope here on the part of Jerry and Stephen Jones is that the strategy buys them enough time to repair the relationship, and perhaps remember that a fundamental part of paying players is talking to their agent. A similar dynamic played out with Dak Prescott, though social media wasn’t nearly as big of a factor there.
This is a path that I’ve been cautioning against for months now, but it feels inevitable. The Cowboys are dead set on doing things their way, and Parsons is much more stubborn than most players they’ve encountered before.
Much like Prescott in the past, Parsons has all the leverage and he definitely doesn’t seem afraid to use it. Consider just how stark the difference has been for Dallas with and without Parsons on the field.
Parsons understands this, and it’s why he’s digging in now. The Joneses will eventually cave - they always do - but it’s a matter of how long they’re willing to hold out. That franchise tag gives them a much longer runway for said holdout.
On the topic of caving, the Joneses could always cave now. The overly public nature of this particular saga might be too much for them to handle. Jerry Jones might react to this sort of embarrassment by doing what billionaires usually do: throw money at the problem.
It’ll have to be a lot of money, though. Parsons has said multiple times in the past that he doesn’t necessarily need to be the highest paid defensive player, but that was before Jerry and Stephen made comments disparaging both Parsons and his agent. Now, the relationship is damaged and needs mending.
Time heals all wounds (hence the first...
