Jerry Jones isn’t certain Micah Parsons will be available for the start of the regular season.
The Cowboys owner and GM spoke Tuesday at a joint practice with the Rams in California, and told reporters he hasn’t communicated with Parsons since the defensive lineman requested a trade out of the organization last Friday.
Jones added he and Parsons’s agent, David Mulugheta of Athletes First, haven’t engaged in any recent negotiations, and he isn’t certain Parsons will play in the season opener against the Eagles on Sept. 4.
“A big part of that is his decision,” Jones said. “How would I know that? I’m just saying … We will work through it or we will not work through it.”
Cowboys first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer was more optimistic than his boss about Parsons’ availability.
“We’re still planning on moving Micah around and putting him in all the spots that we see him and using our fronts the way we want to see it,” Schottenheimer said Tuesday. “We go about our business every day. We live in the moment. We focus on the moment. Like I said the other day, I expect Micah to be here.”
At 26, Parsons is one of the NFL’s best defensive players. He’s had at least 12 sacks in all four seasons with the Cowboys, and will make $24 million this season in the final year of his rookie contract—which is a fifth-year option—according to Spotrac.
Parsons has been holding in at Cowboys training camp to avoid being fined $50,000 per day. He’s attended practices, but hasn’t participated. He also hasn’t spoken to reporters since July 22, the team’s first day of camp.
He is making roughly $17 million less than fellow edge rushers such as T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett, both of whom signed new deals this offseason that pay $41 million and $40 million per season, respectively.
Jones has said Parsons agreed to a handshake deal in March for a new contract. Jones has been long associated with tactic, as he prefers to deal with players directly instead of their representation.
Reporters asked Jones why the alleged deal he and Parsons struck hasn’t been put in writing five months after it happened. Jones says a written agreement exists, but that the parties are “still talking about renegotiating,” despite his earlier comments that he has not communicated with Parsons or Mulugheta.
“I bought the Dallas Cowboys with a handshake,” Jones said. “It took about 30 seconds. I gave the number, shook hands, the details we worked out later. As a matter of fact, one of the details involved a lot of money and I had to flip a coin over that. But the fundamental, ‘I’m buying and you’re gonna sell it to me for that range,’ that’s done. And those are done with eye contact and handshake. Just so you understand the way that I communicate with people that I negotiate with. Let’s leave it at that.”
Jones has continued to mention that Parsons already has a contract—but he’s referring to his current deal only: the fifth-year option the team exercised and is available because of the league’s CBA, not from Jones negotiating.
Barring a trade, Parsons and the Cowboys could be stuck with each other for a while, even without a new contract. The team can still franchise tag him in 2026 to keep him on the roster with the market for his position unchanged in light of Watt and Garrett’s contracts.
