Exploring possible Micah Parsons scenarios prior to Cowboys’ season kickoff

FRISCO — Wednesday marked the year anniversary of CeeDee Lamb’s massive extension with the Cowboys. He ran onto the field at the Ford Center in Frisco to cheers from fans watching practice. He later said he cherished every moment after being away from the team for so long. The holdout wasn’t easy for Lamb.

When he signed, the wide receiver also had to come face to face with the person who was on the opposite end of the negotiation table for that period: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“We had a businessman conversation,” Lamb said on Aug. 27, 2024. “We just had to clear the room. Everything is behind us, we got what we needed to get done, and now it’s time for me to go ball.”

The Cowboys and Lamb were able to move forward after tense negotiations. Quarterback Dak Prescott, who signed his extension on the morning of the 2024 season opener in Cleveland, was able to move forward, too.

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A year later, will Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons be able to do the same?

With almost a week before the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, there’s no resolution in sight. Parsons issued a trade request on Aug. 1 and hasn’t rescinded it. Negotiations are at a standstill with both sides dug in.

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So, what happens next? Here are some of the scenarios that have emerged for how things could play out.

The Cowboys and Parsons stick to the script

Prescott said it himself.

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“I mean, it’s an every-year conversation,” Prescott said in training camp about the Cowboys negotiating with their star players. “Whether it’s myself, Zack Martin, CeeDee Lamb, now Micah Parsons. It’s part of it in a sense. It’s something that I wouldn’t wish anyone was going through. Absolutely not.”

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But ultimately, going through it, and doing business the way the Joneses like to do business, has resulted in agreements that paid players well.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) gave defensive end Micah Parsons (11) a fist bump as he came over to talk to him during a training camp practice timeout in Oxnard, Calif., July 23, 2025. Tom Fox / Staff Photographer

That’s why Prescott said earlier this week that he’s still optimistic Parsons will play against the Eagles in Week 1.

“I’m just going off of experience, honestly,” he said. “No different than mine. I’ve got confidence in that. Just hoping, which I know he is, that he’s ready to play.”

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Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has been confident, too. He’s reaffirmed that multiple times, even as the days toward the season opener draw nearer.

In reality, there’s nothing holding the sides back except for themselves. History shows us that this normally will lead to a deal. In turn, a deal would likely make Parsons the highest-paid nonquarterback in NFL history.

The Cowboys and Parsons flip the script

But what if it doesn’t? What if the Cowboys find a resolution in another way? Could the Cowboys actually do what they haven’t really done since 1989 and trade one of their star players? It might take a Herschel Walker-esque trade package to entice them.

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Jones recently commented on that possibility during an appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show.

“We’re not trading Micah Parsons,” Jones said. “He’s a key part of this team, and we plan to keep him right here where he belongs.

“Any talk of trade is b.s..”

Maybe so, but the more time goes on, and the more drama that ensues, the more steam that possibility gains. And make no mistake: Other teams would undoubtedly be interested in adding a three-time Defensive Player of the Year finalist at the age of 26 to their team.

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The Cowboys and Parsons hit pause

Parsons, coaches and teammates say, is an elite competitor — someone who will do anything he can when he’s on the field to succeed. That’s what makes being off the field so evidently difficult for Parsons. One day in training camp, shortly after his trade request, he went and caught passes from a machine. He then joined the quarterbacks and threw into a target net. At one point in camp, Schottenheimer even said he saw Parsons squeezing in a board game between meetings because he wants to win at everything he does.

It’s that inner competitor that’s made people wonder if Parsons can stay away once it’s time to actually play.

Parsons, as Jones has often reminded, is under contract this season. He’s scheduled to make $21.34 million, though he’s pursuing legal action to get that changed. More on that later.

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If Parsons plays on his fifth-year option, then he could be in this situation again next offseason, negotiating with the Joneses. This possibility feels less possible the closer we get to the season opener.

The Cowboys and Parsons go down an irreparable path

Parsons has a pending grievance filed against the NFL and the Cowboys regarding the salary associated with his contract for this season, a person familiar with the situation told The Dallas Morning News. The Cowboys, in a no-brainer move, picked up his fifth-year option on his rookie contract. The important detail: Parsons, based on an NFL formula, was deemed to be a defensive end instead of a linebacker. That meant Parsons’ salary for this season dropped from just over $24 million to $21.34 million — a decrease of over $2.5 million.

Parsons, according to Pro Football Focus, played 515 snaps last year on the defensive line, compared with 241 at linebacker. There is one detail that could be up for interpretation, however. Of those 515 snaps at defensive line, 385 were at a position PFF deemed as REO, or right end outside, and LEO, or left end outside. That means a player who lined up outside the offensive tackle, but had their hand on the ground when the play was snapped. That means the only difference between linebacker snaps and defensive line snaps in that swing amount was whether Parsons was standing up, or in a stance on the ground.

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When asked about the pending grievance on Wednesday, an NFL spokesman told The News on Wednesday that the league “will vigorously defend against this claim.”

There are future ramifications to Parsons’ positional designation. Jones has insinuated multiple times that he could use the franchise tag for multiple seasons on Parsons to keep him under team control. A team can tag a player a maximum of three times with escalating costs over that span. The price is also determined by position.

Here’s a look at projected costs to franchise tag Parsons over the next two seasons. Three seasons is the maximum for franchise tags by a team on one player, but the third year tag will be the equivalent of the quarterback tag, which is why it’s usually not used for non-quarterbacks. The range is between a potential defensive end franchise tag and a linebacker franchise tag.

2026: DE $26.599 million, LB $28.8 million

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2027: DE $31.91 million, LB $34.56 million

Parsons could be losing money in the long run.

Parsons could also lose money in the short term, too, if he decides to sit out games. He would lose approximately $1.19 million to $1.33 million, based on whether he’s ultimately ruled a linebacker or defensive end this year, per game missed.

That is, unless, he’s injured. Parsons has said since he reported to minicamp that he’s been dealing with back soreness. He received treatment for his back when he missed a couple of practices during training camp. He recently had an MRI exam, which Schottenheimer said back “clean” and that Parsons had been cleared to return to practice.

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But what happens if he doesn’t believe his back is good enough to go? Fellow teammate Trevon Diggs was asked by reporters after Friday’s preseason finale if Parsons would play in Week 1 against the Eagles.

“It depends on how his back feels,” Diggs told reporters.

If the Cowboys believe Parsons is OK to play and he isn’t, they could file a grievance. It’s not out of the question that Parsons could also pursue legal action against the Cowboys for how they negotiated with him back in March.

Parsons’ negotiation with the Cowboys has already taken some unique turns. If this scenario were to happen, there likely would be no turning back.

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Twitter: @JoeJHoyt

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