After meeting about other matters, the Cowboys and McCarthy talk about possible new deal.

The Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy are setting the chessboard.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and McCarthy remain open to moving forward together, and the sides are expected to open talks Friday on a new contract to keep him in Dallas, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported, per sources informed of the situation.

The talks come after several days of discussions about the 2024 season and the future. McCarthy’s contract expires Tuesday, giving Dallas an exclusive negotiating window before the coach becomes a true free agent.

Nearly all of the Cowboys assistant coaches are also due to have their contracts expire next week, providing some urgency for talks between Jones and McCarthy.

Cowboys KR KaVontae Turpin named 1st-team All-Pro, CeeDee Lamb, Brandon Aubrey make 2nd-Team – RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys

Dallas had a significant dip in All-Pro selections from last season.

The regular season wrapped up a week ago for the National Football League which means that the playoffs are about to start and a handful of other things.

Among the “other things” are accolades and awards. There is still some time between now and NFL Honors when things like MVP, Offensive/Defensive Player of the Year, etc. will all be handed out, but the Pro Bowl rosters came out recently (the Dallas Cowboys had 5 players selected) and on Friday the Associated Press All-Pro Teams were announced.

The Cowboys had only a single First-Team All-Pro this season. It was on the special teams side of things and was not surprisingly KaVontae Turpin.

There were two Second-Team All-Pro selections on the Cowboys roster in CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aubrey.

All three of those players were named to the Pro Bowl which makes sense. Dallas’ other two Pro Bowlers were Micah Parsons and Tyler Smith. While they were not All-Pro selections it is worth noting that Parsons did receive some votes in the overall process, although Smith did not.

The to-do list for the Dallas Cowboys heading into the offseason – Ben Grimaldi, WFAA

The Cowboys have a laundry list of things to get figured out.

Defensive linemen Carl Lawson, Chauncey Golston and Osa Odighizuwa are among that group who warrant a return. Odighizuwa will come with a higher price tag than expected, but the defense needs him back as he was often the only serviceable player in the trenches to help stop the run.

Also included on the to-do signing list this offseason is the need to extend their All-Pro defensive standout. Parsons is eligible for a new deal, and he’ll be the main topic of conversations until it gets done. If the Joneses wait and hold the franchise hostage in negotiations like they did last year, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Parsons has already said that he wants a deal done quickly, doesn’t need to be the highest paid player, and he doesn’t want to be a distraction; management should follow his lead.

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Those attributes are a dream come true for the Joneses. They have a golden opportunity to avoid dragging their feet on extending one of the best defensive players in the league, while also being allowed to re-sign other free agents.

Another player eligible for an extension is DaRon Bland, who is coming off a season where he missed 10 games due to injury but had an All-Pro season in 2023. Will the Cowboys have the ability to keep cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and Bland, both who could come at a high cost while they’re tight against the salary cap? The short answer is yes, if they want to. But Dallas keeps these decisions close to the vest and often is unbending in their ability to get creative with their cap dollars.

The team could wait another year on Bland, but that risks him having another good season and watching his price skyrocket. Waiting things out would also mean the Cowboys would have two big extensions the following season, when All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith becomes eligible for a big raise.

When will Jerry Jones extend Micah Parsons’ Cowboys contract? – Todd Archer, ESPN

The Cowboys should do it sooner rather than later.

On Friday, Micah Parsons is scheduled to sit with Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones at AT&T Stadium to watch the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic between Ohio State and Texas (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Parsons said he plans to ask, “‘How can we become contenders? How do we bounce back from this year? What are the plans?’ Those are the type of things that I want to ask. I hope he asks me things, too.”

At some point, maybe Parsons’ future will come up.

Parsons, the No. 12 pick of the 2021 draft, is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract and is scheduled to make $24 million on the fifth-year option. The edge rusher is the top player priority for the Cowboys this offseason.

Jones has said Parsons is a cornerstone of the Cowboys’ future, right with quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb. He has called the thought of trading Parsons nonsense, and he wants him around for the long term.

In December, Parsons told ESPN he wants his Cowboys uniform No. 11 to be considered among the likes of Nos. 74, 12, 8 and 22, worn by Hall of Famers Bob Lilly, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith and never worn again. He also said he does not need to be the highest-paid defensive player in the game, a point he repeated on a number of occasions.

Last time Cowboys had No. 12 pick in NFL Draft, it was franchise-changing – Tyler Reed, Sports Illustrated

Micah Parsons was the pick in 2021. Who will be next?

The Cowboys currently hold the 12th selection of the first round, a place where the team has had great success before.

The Cowboys selected from 12th in the 2021 NFL Draft, the draft after their last season of missing the postseason. With that selection, the team chose Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons.

What has Parsons done in his short four years in Dallas? Oh, you know, just earn four Pro Bowl selections, two All-Pro selections, and Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021.

Parsons changed the trajectory of the franchise, and all because the Cowboys took him with the 12th pick.