The Dallas Cowboys are nearing a key point for three of their top stars.
Dak Prescott is due for a record-breaking contract extension while CeeDee Lamb is nearing the end of his rookie deal.
While it seems likely Jerry Jones is planning on inking a new deal with Prescott, it’s going to be hard to give each of the three stars the top-level money they will be seeking with their new deals.
Micah Parsons is set to have just a $5.4 million cap hit in 2024 but the defensive star will enter the final season on a four-year, $17 million rookie deal.
Dallas also has the chance to pick up Parsons’ fifth-year option for 2025, a move that the front office will almost assuredly make. Last May, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell projected that Parsons’ average annual salary could get into the $32 million range.
After two All-Pro seasons and winning NFL Defensive Rookie Of The Year in his inaugural campaign, Parsons has continued to dominate as a pass rusher and one of the most elite defenders in the NFL. He closed out 2023 with 14 sacks and a third-straight trip to the Pro Bowl.
Micah Parsons finally made his first comments following the early playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers and per usual, the Dallas Cowboys star didn’t hold back his words.
“They’re talking about how we’re going ‘all in’ this year. Man, that’s what I would hope for,” Parsons said. “I’m 24 years old. I’ve been in this league three years and I’ve kinda seen it all. I hope we go all in. I hope that we go out and get the players that we’re missing, because we didn’t do that this year. I hope that we challenge ourselves to become better and become greater for us.”
Parsons called the Cowboys’ loss “completely embarassing and unacceptable” and it seems he’ll be expecting a big reaction from the team.
Dallas Cowboys Insider Says Trading Micah Parsons Is A ‘Possibility’
The honeymoon stage of Parsons’ tenure with the Cowboys appears to be coming to an end. Clearly the star pass rusher is tired of not advancing in the playoffs and he’s the type of player that will always air his frustrations in the open.
With Parsons’ next deal set to break the bank, 105.3 The Fan’s Bobby Belt ponders whether Cowboys may explore a blockbuster trade for the pass rusher. The Cowboys insider labels a potential Parsons trade as unlikely, but admitted it is a “possibility” given the contract projections for the star’s next deal.
Belt compared the Micah Parsons situation with the Dallas Cowboys to other recent unexpected moves from teams and their defensive stars in their prime.
“You know how I look at this, I just wonder, you see Micah’s gotten a couple different times where he’s been a little upset or a little frustrated and there are those issues,” Belt explained during a January 24, 2024 episode of the “Love of the Star” podcast. “I just wonder if, not necessarily the Cowboys are like, ‘Huh, we got to get rid of this guy.”
“I just wonder, does it reach a Jalen Ramsey or Bradley Chubb point where you get near the end of the rookie deal and they’re like, ‘Look you you want different things. We’re having a tough time with some of these growing pains. It’s best for both of us, you just go and we’ll get the draft capital.”
“I don’t think that’s likely, but I think it’s at least a possibility that it comes to that point, at some point.”
Former Dallas Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus concurred with Belt’s questions about Parsons’ future. The eventual massive new contract leaves the door cracked for at least the possibility of a potential trade. Dallas is going to find it challenging to pay all of the stars that are due for raises on their next contract
“But you’re in a situation right now where you’re not going to be able to pay CeeDee Lamb all that money. You’re not going to be able to pay Micah Parsons all that money,” Broaddus said.
“You got to think about Dak Prescott and what that’s all about. You brought it up about the the guys that get to the end of those contracts. Can you get a hall for a Micah Parsons that will help you?”
Elite pass rushers are almost as hard to find as quarterbacks in today’s NFL, but Jerry Jones and company will have to determine whether keeping Parsons or trading him for a massive haul in return makes the most sense for the team’s future.
