Extending Micah Parsons should be one of the easiest decisions the Dallas Cowboys have ever made, and yet they have pushed things to the point that Parsons, who just wants a new contract, has requested a trade.
Parsons revealed in a statement on Friday that he no longer wants to be in the Lone Star State. There is a lot of hearsay on both sides about what drew a knife in negotiations, but we all know who's ultimately at fault here.
Jerry and Stephen Jones' insistence on pushing contract talks to the absolute brink of disaster is why we're here. While there is reason to hope that this ends in Parsons inking a record-setting deal with the Cowboys, the Joneses can pull an diabolical lever if the outlook doesn't improve.
The Cowboys have some leverage here in that Parsons has one year remaining on his contract. If they refuse to trade him, they can franchise tag him in 2026 and 2027.
Cowboys can franchise tag Micah Parsons in 2026 if they don't sign him and refuse to trade him
Per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas would consider using the franchise tag on Parsons if it comes to that.
"Even if an agreement on an extension does not come, Dallas has all of the control around Parsons’ future and is prepared to use the franchise tag to keep him around in 2026 and 2027 if it’s needed," Harris wrote.
Trading Parsons is obviously the worse-case scenario. But the franchise tag coming into play would make this arguably the worst negotiation in team history.
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Not only would it not pay Parsons close to what he deserves relative to the EDGE market, but it would drag this out for another season. It's hard to imagine things being smoothed over if the front office whips out the franchise tag.
The hope for Cowboys fans is that Parsons' request is a negotiation tactic to light a fire under Jerry and Stephen Jones inside The Star. Of course, they are stuck in their worse way worse than any executive(s) in football. They will cave before the opener on Sept. 4, but they are going to soak in all of the attention for the time being.
As for Parsons, he is still in Oxnard and with his teammates the facility where training camp is taking place. He reportedly has no intention of leaving. After all, he'd incur $50K in daily fines, which is mandated by the NFL.
If you find yourself exhausted by the Cowboys' nonsense, join the club.