Micah Parsons is quickly going from playing it cool to spelling out why the Dallas Cowboys are messing up big time
Well, here we are. It took a long time for this to feel like true contract drama given the way Micah Parsons was approaching negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys. But now it's here. Parsons attended minicamp and said he'd show up for training camp, though it would be a major surprise if he took the field […]
Well, here we are. It took a long time for this to feel like true contract drama given the way Micah Parsons was approaching negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys. But now it's here.
Parsons attended minicamp and said he'd show up for training camp, though it would be a major surprise if he took the field in Oxnard, California without a new deal. And according to Micah, the price to get a deal done is already on the rise.
According to Clarence Hill from All City DLLS, Parsons said the number he talked to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about is lower than what T.J. Watt is seeking from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"According to Parsons, the deal that Watt is seeking is more than what he and Jones talked about," Hill wrote in an article describing Micah as puzzled due to the situation. "And he said he's seen the number. Therefore, his deal is going to go up, which means the Cowboys are going to be paying more.”
Watt is expected to slightly one-up Myles Garrett's new deal with the Cleveland Browns, which will average $40 million per year. Parsons—who is four years younger than Watt and Garrett—is largely projected to pass them.
If Parsons is being truthful and the Cowboys and he talked about a number lower than what Watt is seeking, they should've jumped at the deal like Kramer negotiating with the coffee company. For a long time, it's been understood Garrett and Watt were looking at the $40 million range.
The closest thing to a deadline for a deal is the start of training camp in late July. Parsons recently posted on social media: "I’m preparing as if I will be on the field the first week of camp! But it’s in the owner’s hands."
Earlier in the week, Parsons told reporters he'd still show up to training camp even without a new deal, though chances are he'd be "holding in."
Ultimately, this isn't new territory for Cowboys fans. This is the Jerry and Stephen Jones way. They wait and wait on big deals. They did so with their quarterback when Dak Prescott had all the leverage he needed to break the bank. They did it with CeeDee Lamb. Hate it or love it, it's what they do even if they don't win on the negotiating table.
This is to say, I expect the Parsons deal to get done. But maybe I was too optimistic in believing it would be a smoother ride. It's already getting bumpy.