The Dallas Cowboys’ offseason got off to a dreadful start when they hired Brian Schottenheimer as head coach, but the temperature in North Texas has improved now that Schottenheimer has put together an objectively strong coaching staff.
Unfortunately, the rest of the offseason is in the hands of Jerry and Stephen Jones.
There are myriad elephants in the room, like the uncertain futures of Zack Martin and fellow free agents Jourdan Lewis, DeMarcus Lawrence and Osa Odighizuwa. The biggest elephant by far, though, is Micah Parsons’ contract.
Most forward-thinking NFL teams wouldn’t have waited until year five to extend a player of Parsons’ caliber. That, of course, is a product of Dallas waiting too long to reward Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb with new deals. Parsons got pushed back a year and now the Cowboys will have to honor the current market for upper-echelon pass rushers.
The All-Pro has said in the past that he wants to sign his extension as early as possible to help the team spend more money in free agency. Making the rounds on Radio Row down in New Orleans, Parsons doubled down on that in a conversation with Bleacher Report.
Cowboys star Micah Parsons makes genius contract leverage play over Jerry Jones
“We have a lot of guys to sign,” Parsons said, via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I don’t think we can afford to keep having things wait out.”
That is exactly how Cowboys fans feel, Micah.
Not only do the Joneses have a knack for getting fleeced in negotiations by refusing to get out in front of the market, but they put their team at a disadvantage by waiting until the end of the summer to show any urgency at the negotiation table.
Lamb signed his extension at the end of training camp last summer while Prescott signed on the dotted line hours before the Cowboys’ 2024 season-opener. With both mega-deals looming over their heads, the Joneses hardly spent a nickel in free agency.
They did not hesitate to blame Prescott and Lamb’s deal for their stinginess even though the rival Eagles extended multiple core pieces (A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson) and spent a ton of money in free agency headlined by likely Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley and Defensive Player of the Year finalist Zack Baun.
It’s a lost cause hoping the Cowboys will start operating like Philly.
Regardless, extending Parsons sooner rather than later will allow for maximum clarity and flexibility going into a huge offseason.
While Dallas can’t re-sign everyone, getting Parsons’ deal out of the way only increases the odds they retain a Jourdan Lewis, Osa Odighizuwa or DeMarcus Lawrence. They should be able to re-sign two of them in addition to Parsons, but only if Parsons’ extension is set in stone.
Whenever it gets done, Parsons putting all of the pressure on the front office to not drag their feet is genius. If they do, not a soul will be able to blame him.
