FRISCO — Nothing has progressed on the contract extension front between Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys. ‘Handshake agreement’ or not, nothing has been put to pen and paper that secures Parsons’ future with Dallas.

But while that saga plays out behind the scenes, the Cowboys are underway with OTAs this week. The stars are all out, including CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott along with newly acquired receiver George Pickens showing off his new No. 13 digits.

The only one missing is Parsons…well… sort of. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed that Parsons showed up on the first day of OTAs and had lunch with him.

Due to those financial matters playing out off the field, Parsons’ presence will not be on the field yet. But that does not mean it will not be felt around the locker room until the extension is signed and done.

Schottenheimer and his staff expect Parsons to be a leader for this team. A major piece in that is his presence which the head coach spoke to on Tuesday.

“We’ve spoken very openly about trying to create one of the greatest cultures in professional sports… Micah is going to be a leader for us, Micah wants to be a leader for us… I felt like it was really important for him to be here to begin that process.

This evoked a two-word response on X from Parsons who appears to be fully on board with Schotty’s mindset.

Parsons’ contract extension continues to be the only road block here. He has shown unabashed loyalty to his team and wants to embrace this new role of being the unquestioned leader of this defense.

The Cowboys see that in him and have that role carved out specifically for their defensive superstar. All indications are that he is completely on board with that vision for him and everything about Schotty’s culture.

Clearly, Parsons and the Cowboys have the matter of the extension to work through before they get him back in full. Whenever that time comes, he should be ready to hit the ground running.