Cowboys fans have shouted “Pay Micah” at Jerry and Stephen Jones throughout training camp. However, alas, it has had no effect.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on Tuesday that the Cowboys and their best player, Micah Parsons, are “further away from a deal in late July, early August than we were in late March, early April.”
“The two sides have gone backwards, not forwards. I don’t think they’re speaking very much these days, if at all,” Schefter told Pat McAfee. “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, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract with Dallas, has watched the league’s premier pass rushers, such as Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt, get signed to record extensions despite being older than him.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, have remained far less willing to re-sign Parsons, as they point out his four games missed due to injury last year, among other factors.
Schefter continued, pointing out that the tension between Parsons and the Cowboys seems “personal.”
“It sounds like Dallas is upset with the fact it felt like it was getting closer to a deal and that deal went sideways,” Schefter said. “And I think Micah Parsons feels like this deal should have been done.
“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.”
As of June, at least, Parsons expressed hope that he and the Cowboys would come to an agreement.
“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 at the time.
That spirit of good feelings ended abruptly in July, however, when Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones used Parsons’ injuries from last year as a reason to not pay the star pass rusher’s asking price.
“Just because we sign him, doesn’t mean we’re going to have him,” Jones said earlier this month.
“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.”
While injury concerns must factor into any decision, that argument probably falls short with Parsons’ camp, who could turn around and argue that despite missing four games, Parsons still recorded more sacks than Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt, and Watt is not only older than Parsons but signed a $123 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history,
In any event, Parsons will play for Dallas this season. But after that, all bets are off.
