The high-profile standoff between Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys continues to boil over as the star defensive end seeks a contract extension. With question marks surrounding his future with America’s Team, ESPN’s Adam Schefter claimed the negotiations have stalled between the parties.
On Tuesday, the NFL insider appeared on the Pat McAfee Show and said the Cowboys and Parsons are “further away from a deal in late July, early August than we were in late March, early April.”
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“The two sides have gone backwards, not forwards. I don’t think they’re speaking very much these days, if at all,” Schefter added. “This negotiation, when it was a negotiation, has gone sideways. It’s not a negotiation right now. There’s really no conversation about getting a deal done.
“That could change next week. It could change shortly before the season. We’ve seen how long Dallas sometimes waits on some of these deals. See CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott last season.”
Parsons is campaigning for a massive contract extension while exercising a fifth-year player option on his rookie deal. As negotiations continue, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones insisted that the team wants to pay Parsons.
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On Sunday, Jones spoke on Parsons’ status after Cowboys fans jeered his father, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, over the absence of Parsons’ extension. “We want to pay Micah, too. He’s gotta want to be paid,” Stephen Jones said.
According to Schefter, the frustrations continue to hover over the deal as the situation sounds “a little bit more personal from both sides.”
“It sounds like Dallas is upset with the fact it felt like it was getting closer to a deal and that deal went sideways. And I think Micah Parsons feels like this deal should have been done,” Schefter added.
“I don’t think Micah’s real happy with them. I don’t think they’re real happy with him. I don’t think anybody’s real happy with anybody, and I don’t think there’s a deal that’s being discussed right now, not to mention being close.”
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Despite struggling to find a common ground with the front office, Parsons has expressed his interest in staying in Dallas. In June, the 26-year-old reiterated wanting to sign a new deal before reporting to training camp.
“I’m pretty hopeful. I’m still hanging tight. I understand it’s up to [Jerry Jones]. He gives the green light on everything. So hopefully something is done by next month,” Parsons said then.
Come July, statements took a harsher tone with Jerry Jones saying, “Just because we sign him, doesn’t mean we’re going to have him.”
“He was hurt [four, not six] games last year. Seriously. I remember signing a player for the highest paid at the position in the league, and he got knocked out two-thirds of the year, Dak Prescott,” Jones continued. “So there’s a lot of things you can think about, just as the player does when you’re thinking about committing and guaranteeing money.”
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Parsons has since claimed that his agent has been reaching out, though he’s realistic regarding the possibility that the two sides could ultimately fail to reach a long-term deal suitable for both parties. “As far as I’m here and under contract, I’m going to do what I have to do to perform at the highest level, but if this is the end, this is the end,” Parsons shared in a recent training camp presser, courtesy of The Athletic’s Jon Machota.
The discussions are taking place as the Cowboys prepare for their first season under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who replaced Mike McCarthy after five seasons.
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The Cowboys look to bounce back from a 7-10 season. Parsons recorded 30 solo and 13 assisted tackles in his fourth year in Dallas, including 12 sacks over 13 games played. The two-time first-team All-Pro has recorded 12+ sacks in each of his four seasons with the Cowboys.
