Last offseason was a disaster. Cowboys DE Micah Parsons doesn’t want to be the reason it’s repeated
If you diagnose why the Dallas Cowboys are just one loss away from finishing below .500 for the first time since 2020, you will find a lot of starting points from the 2023 offseason.
Delaying contracts extension agreements with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb until after training camp gave the front office little-to-no flexibility to spend in free agency which forced the Cowboys to field a less-talented roster than what they had gotten used to over the last three seasons.
After Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said last week that the upcoming offseason will be similarly “tight” as it was in 2024, the expectation is that there will be a similar hurdle getting in the way of the front office making major offseason moves in the form of a contract extension negotiation with defensive end Micah Parsons.
It doesn’t need be that way, though. According to Parsons’ feelings around his upcoming extension, there should be room for the Cowboys to work – and work quickly – once the offseason begins.
“I’m going to try and work with them as much as possible to help them attack free agency,” Parsons said on Thursday. “I want to be back with this team. This offseason, I want to be here. I want to get these guys right. I want to take big steps, so hopefully it can be done sooner than later so we can attack the offseason.”
Parsons is expected to command the biggest contract for a defensive player in NFL history this offseason as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. With that record currently set at $34.1 million per year from San Francisco 49ers’ defensive end Nick Bosa, the expectation is that Parsons could get a contract north of $40 million per year. For him, it’s not a requirement.
“No, I don’t [need to be the highest-paid],” he said “I don’t need 40.”
Even though it might cost him some paper on the front end, Parsons understands that a contract that large may require the front office to let some of his free agent teammates such as defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa and defensive end Chauncey Golston walk in free agency.
“It would be nice to be surrounded by good players,” he said. “To me, having $40 million and being chipped every play and slid into 3-4 people, that doesn’t sound too fun to me. So, to me, it’s about keeping people that can make a difference.”
Unlike CeeDee Lamb who held out of all team activities last offseason while he awaited a new contract extension, Parsons is considering remaining present in the facility during negotiations.
While no one in the building ever blamed Lamb for waiting until he was paid to show up, his absence from training camp and OTAs resulted in a shaky start to the season offensively that was amplified by a disconnect between Lamb and Dak Prescott that could’ve been built in that time he was away.
Parsons doesn’t want a repeat of that in 2025, especially if he has to learn a new scheme under a different coordinator.
“Everyone’s different,” Parsons said. “I think I’ll still be around. Like I said, I don’t know what the coaching is going to be like…If they do change [coordinators], or if [Mike Zimmer] just feels like he just wants to go with the horses, I’ve got to learn a new scheme. I’ve got to be around guys. There’s going to be rookies. There’s going to be free agent guys that come here…I’ve still got to be there for that part.”
The blame wasn’t just put on others for how the 2023 offseason went, there’s also some ownership that Parsons had to take. Despite having to learn a new scheme under a new coordinator, Parsons didn’t arrive at the facility until it was required for mandatory minicamp in June. Despite the rest of the team – aside from CeeDee Lamb – being present for voluntary OTAs, it took potentially losing a paycheck for the team’s best defensive player to arrive.
That is not something he plans to repeat in 2025, with or without a contract extension in hand.
“Honestly, when so much of the defense is surrounded by your play, your presence, and others getting lined up based off of you, I need to be here so that way I can get these guys [together],” Parsons said. “We can rush together, build that chemistry. So, I think it’s extremely important that I’m back at OTAs and minicamp and all those types of things.”
While Stephen Jones did backtrack his original thoughts on the “tight” offseason ahead on a radio hit with 105.3 The Fan late last week, there is still an expectation that there will be some hurdles to overcome. However, Parsons explained Thursday that his own hurdle is a very manageable one.
“I can’t go up to Stephen and say, ‘Hey, I want to get paid here,’” Parsons said. “But our door is open, my people know that.”
What Parsons says to the media and what he says behind that door could be two completely different things. Or it could be the same. The only question that remains is when Stephen will walk through that door. Sooner or later?
