With the offseason looming for the Dallas Cowboys and Pro Bowl outside linebacker Micah Parsons is set to enter the last year of his rookie contract, the Cowboys will look at all options before giving out a record-breaking contract that includes trading Parsons.
After a disappointing season for Dallas that currently has them 5-8 on the year, Jerry Jones and his Cowboys will face some tough decisions to make in the offseason for 2025. Star edge rusher Parsons will be due a record-breaking extension, and there are some thoughts around the Cowboy’s organization that they could trade Parsons for a haul rather than give him big money.
Cowboys Willing to Trade Micah Parsons
Right before the 2024 offseason, the Cowboys gave out two big money deals to Ceedee Lamb and Dak Prescott, which didn’t return the results they wanted this season. Lamb signed a four-year $136 million deal, making him the second highest-paid wide receiver in the league, while Prescott signed a four-year $240 million deal to make him the highest-paid quarterback in the league.
Prescott got off to a rocky start this season after finishing second in MVP voting last season. He ultimately would get injured in a Week 9 loss and finish the season on injured reserve. Lamb is third in receiving yards right now with 973; however, his production has taken a hit from last season without Prescott being on the field.
Though Lamb and Prescott have top-of-the-market deals on the offensive side, cornerback Trevon Diggs has a top-of-the-market deal on the defensive side at cornerback that he signed in 2023. Diggs has battled injuries all year in an underwhelming season and will miss the rest of the season after knee surgery. When asked about their deals on the books and potential deal for Parsons, Cowboy’s CEO Stephen Jones had this to say.
“I think that’s a balancing act that you always got to look at,” Jones said on Wednesday. “Especially when your good, good players get hurt and are not on the field. It totally magnifies the issue if you lose guys like Dak, Diggs misses games, Zack Martin misses games, and it’s going to magnify something like that. You’re going to say, ‘God, are we smart having this much money tied into the top five to 10 players?’ ”
When or if Parsons signs his deal, it will undoubtedly make him the highest-paid defensive player in the league. That will make four contracts on Dallas’s payroll that are all top-five contracts at each respective position, so it’s easy to see why the Cowboys would be hesitant to do so after a disappointing season. Stephen Jones admitted they could look into trading Parsons even though they’d like to sign him.
“Yeah, that’ll all be things we’ll consider. “Obviously, we’re totally all in on Dak and CeeDee,” Jones told NFL.com, “but after that, you still shape things, including Micah. But Micah’s a great player. You don’t do well in this league, letting guys like Micah, usually, leave the house.”
If Parsons were to be available via trade, the Cowboys could get a significant hall for him, which would be enticing to Dallas. Every team would be interested in Parsons, so Dallas’s phone lines will be busy this offseason as teams check on Parsons’s availability. There have been examples over the past few seasons of Pro Bowl defensive players getting traded after not coming to an extension with the team they were drafted to. Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Los Angeles Rams from the Jacksonville Jaguars for two first-round picks and a fourth. Khalil Mack was traded from the Las Vegas Raiders to the Chicago Bears for two first-round picks a third and a sixth.
The highest-paid defensive player in the league at this time is Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers at $34 million annually. Reports from league insiders think Parsons will pass the annual number Bosa makes to become the newest highest-paid player in the league.
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