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NFL training camp hasn’t even started yet, and drama speculation has already begun with the Dallas Cowboys.
Cowboys team owner and general manager Jerry Jones spoke with reporters on Monday, and as he has in the past, he dropped some controversial material that star defensive end Micah Parsons didn’t seem to like.
Jones said he wasn’t frustrated with how the current contract negotiations with Parsons are going, adding that he is “appreciative” of the edge rusher being in camp with them going on.
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Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) walks onto the field during the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium Dec. 15, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images)
However, Jones randomly took a shot at Parsons, saying that even if they do find the right numbers in the deal, it doesn’t mean they will have him on the field. Jones said that Parsons was hurt six games last season, though he was only out four due to injury.
Jones also brought up quarterback Dak Prescott, the highest-paid at the position in the league after signing an extension before the 2024 season, who played just eight games last year due to injury.
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J.J. Watt, the ex-Houston Texans great pass rusher, took to social media to bark back at Jones, and Parsons retweeted it on Monday.
“Anytime you can publicly take a dig at your star quarterback and your star pass rusher simultaneously, right before the season begins, you just gotta take it…” Watt wrote on X, sarcastically.
“Nothing makes guys want to fight for you more than hearing how upset you are that they got hurt while fighting for you.”
Since entering the NFL as the 12th overall pick to the Cowboys in 2021, Parsons has racked up 52.5 sacks over 63 games, which includes a 12-sack season in 2024. He also has 63 tackles for loss, 112 quarterback hits and nine forced fumbles over that span.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones speaks to the media at a press conference at the Star. (Tim Heitman/Imagn Images)
Parsons has cemented himself as one of the best edge rushers in the sport, and he’s looking to be paid as such.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, shelled out Prescott’s contract along with star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, whose contract is the third-highest in the league at $34 million per season.
Off the edge, Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt, arguably the best defensive player in the league, just got paid $41 million per season over the next three years, while Cleveland Browns stud Myles Garrett is just behind him at $40 million per season. With Houston Texans’ Danielle Hunter making over $34 million per season, and sitting third-highest behind Garrett and Watt after tallying 45 sacks since 2021, Parsons is likely looking for a contract above his.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) walks on the field during the team’s training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields on July 25, 2024 in Oxnard, California. (Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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It will be telling to see what the Cowboys end up doing this preseason with Parsons, who will be playing on his fifth-year option. If a contract isn’t figured out by the start of the next league year, Parsons will be a free agent unless he is franchise tagged.
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