It appears pass-rusher Micah Parsons is skipping the final days of the Dallas Cowboys’ voluntary springtime workouts amid his desire to receive a lucrative contract extension ahead of the 2025 season.
While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, first-year Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer addressed whether or not Parsons will participate in Dallas’ three-day mandatory minicamp scheduled to run from June 10-12.
“I would assume [he’ll attend],” Schottenheimer said about Parsons, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “Micah and I talked a couple of days ago. Again, he’s doing a little bit of traveling. But, again, everything that he and I have talked about, I expect that he will be here.”
ESPN’s Todd Archer mentioned on May 30 that Parsons had been around the Cowboys “for parts of the offseason” before the first week of June. However, Archer added that there had “not been much dialogue from either side on closing any gaps” regarding the type of deal Parsons’ camp wants.
Parsons is currently set to play on the fifth-year option attached to his rookie contract.
“Like I said, I say it each and every week, Micah and I have had great communication — everything I’ve asked him to do and vice versa he’s followed through on. So, I would expect to see him,” Schottenheimer added.
Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett reset the market for players at the position when he signed a four-year, $160M extension that included $123.5M guaranteed earlier this offseason. Former player and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark is among those who think Parsons’ extension with the Cowboys will surpass Garrett’s deal, but it’s worth noting that T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers is also looking for a pay raise this spring.
While Watt will be 31 years old at the end of the 2025 season, Parsons turned just 26 on May 26. Thus, it’s possible Parsons could wait to see what Watt gets from the Steelers before the 2021 first-round draft pick puts pen to paper on any extension.
Dallas acquiring wide receiver George Pickens from the Steelers in May was a win-now move, and there’s no indication Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones would move on from Parsons this summer. That said, Schottenheimer may look a little silly if Parsons is nowhere to be seen when Cowboys players report for mandatory minicamp next week.
