It doesn’t look like the Dallas Cowboys and linebacker Micah Parsons are on the same page.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the two sides aren’t anywhere close to working out a new deal for the two-time All-Pro.
“The two sides have gone backwards, not forwards,” Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I don’t think they’re speaking very much these days, if at all. This negotiation, when it was a negotiation, has gone sideways. It’s not a negotiation right now. There’s really no conversation about getting a deal done."
The Cowboys — and owner Jerry Jones in particular — have developed a reputation for dragging out contract talks with star players. While that could change at any moment, and Parsons could suddenly become the highest-paid defender in NFL history, things appear to be at a standstill for now.
If a deal isn’t reached, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell believes Parsons could command an enormous return in a trade.
Still waiting for his long-term contract extension, the price to procure his signature is only going up after Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt signed their own extensions. The baseline for a Parsons deal a year ago would have been Nick Bosa's extension, which is worth $34 million per year. Now, Watt's deal is up to an average annual value (AAV) of $41 million. Parsons is going to get a record-setting deal when he signs.
I expect that to occur with the Cowboys before Week 1, but if they did decide they couldn't justify paying three players market-setting deals at the league's three most expensive positions, he would attract a massive trade haul. The closest comp is Khalil Mack, who in 2018 was traded before his fifth season with a second-round pick for two first-round picks, a third-rounder and a sixth-rounder.
Parsons is a year younger than Mack was at the time. And while Mack had a Defensive Player of the Year award under his belt, Parsons has more sacks (52.5 to Mack's 40.5) and quarterback knockdowns (112 to Mack's 84) over his first four seasons. The Mack deal came in just shy of two first-round picks of value after accounting for the other selections involved; the Cowboys would expect more for Parsons.
Meanwhile, fans in Oxnard, California — the site of the Cowboys’ training camp — have made their voices heard, chanting "Pay Micah" at Jones during practices.
When asked where things stand between the team and Parsons, Jones offered little clarity, per NFL.com's Kevin Patra.
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“Really, I don't have anything to comment there at all,” he said. “Just no comment.”