One would figure that the Dallas Cowboys want to keep their best player in Arlington for the prime years of his career, but, to date, extension talks haven’t been held with star linebacker Micah Parsons, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Parsons, who’s extension-eligible, is entering the final year of his rookie deal. Furthermore, a recent report from NFL Media mentioned that the Cowboys have at least had “internal discussions” about what they could receive if they traded Parsons, a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler.
At the same time, Dallas signed wide receiver and four-time Pro Bowler CeeDee Lamb to a four-year, $136 million deal within two weeks of the 2024 regular season. It then signed quarterback and three-time Pro Bowler Dak Prescott to a four-year, $240 million deal on the morning of Week 1. Both players signed their respective contracts while entering the final year of their previous deals.
Working under the expectation that Parsons wants to be paid as a premier pass rusher and not a linebacker, Nick Bosa (five-year, $170 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers), Josh Hines-Allen (five-year, $141.3 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars), Brian Burns (five-year, $141 million deal with the New York Giants) and T.J. Watt (four-year, $112 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers) are the highest-paid defensive ends in the NFL in terms of average annual average.
Parsons missed four games last season due to an ankle injury. In the 13 games that Parsons did play in, though, he totaled 12.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and 43 combined tackles. Parsons ranked fourth among edge defenders in pass rush grade (91.6), sixth in overall grade (90.0) and 72nd in run defense grade (65.5), per Pro Football Focus.
Parsons has registered 12-plus sacks in each of his four seasons in the NFL. In just 63 games, he’s already 13th in Cowboys history with 52.5 career sacks and tied for ninth with nine forced fumbles.
The Cowboys are coming off a 7-10 season that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and fire head coach Mike McCarthy after five seasons, promoting offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach.
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National Football League
Dallas Cowboys
Micah Parsons
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