The NFL has undergone significant changes throughout Jerry Jones' long tenure with the Dallas Cowboys. It's the reality of the social media era, agents, and much more.
Players aren't what they once were, and it's tough to blame them in some aspects. Players ultimately have to protect themselves, and Micah Parsons is doing just that.
However, for whatever reason, Jones doesn't seem to understand that. The former Penn State star has requested a trade from the Cowboys, as there's certainly stuff going on behind the scenes that most might not understand.
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Whatever those talks are between Jones and the Cowboys remain uncertain, but Parsons certainly isn't happy, and there have been some comments from Jones that show why. He recently did an exclusive interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, drawing a comparison to the situation when Emmitt Smith had a similar situation and refused to fulfill his contract.
“It took a long time with Emmitt Smith,” the Cowboys owner replied, turning back the clock to the Hall of Fame running back’s epic holdout in 1993. “Same thing with (Zack) Martin two years ago. (Cee Dee) Lamb last year. When you have the ability for players under contract to basically renegotiate or say, ‘I’m not going to play the contract,’ then you have those things happen.”
Comparing the situations between Smith and Parsons is entirely unfair for a few different reasons, but it doesn't seem like Jones, for one, cares about that or is considering it.
Smith is arguably the greatest player in Cowboys history. While Parsons has a chance to be just that if he continues to play at the level he has and the Cowboys figure things out with his contract, he still has a long way to go before he's regarded as someone like Smith in Dallas.
Perhaps Jones has that thinking, which obviously isn't the right one.