FRISCO — The Dallas Cowboys have some key decisions to cipher through in the offseason. One of those processes will involve their most important defensive player, Micah Parsons.

Parsons is due an extension as he enters the final year of his rookie contract, likely demanding a handsome figure for compensation. For those who followed the saga between the Cowboys, Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb last offseason, the thought of more drawn out negotiations are already a tiring exercise.

However, some feel that another summer of waiting for an inevitably large pay out may not be worth the struggle. Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson has suggested the Cowboys at least explore avenues to trade Parsons to reclaim future salary cap space and hefty draft capital.

“Quietly open the phone lines on him before signing his inevitable massive contract extension,” Robinson writes. “There’s at least a slight chance that Parsons could command three firsts.

“Not only would such a trade open a significant amount of future salary cap space, it would yield picks that Dallas could use to line the offensive and defensive lines during a micro-rebuild the next few seasons.”

Our take?

We say that in the Cowboys’ current situation, they should be looking for the best ways to utilize him on the field, not on the trade market. (By the way, with all due respect to the knowledgeable Robinson, there is no precedent for a three-first-round pick deal for a defensive player. … so such a swap would represent an all-time high.)

Though the 2024 campaign spiraled out of control, it remains fact that the core of this team went 12-5 for three consecutive seasons. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are under contract for the coming years, giving the team a roughly three to four-year window left of contention.

Having a young star like Parsons on board for that is essential. He will demand a high price come the offseason (think $40 million APY), but it is a near impossible task to contend for a championship on a budget in the modern NFL. Frankly, the Cowboys should not be putting themselves into such a box with the other talent they already have on the roster.

Oh and about that cap space: Parsons’ new contract in 2025 will not take up cap space …  It will actually alleviate any cap crunch by reducing his existing salary by somewhere between $10 million and $13 million.

If the Cowboys sign Parsons and hit on a few picks in April’s NFL Draft, they could claw back into contention within a year. First, they have to make sure their star is locked in.