The Dallas Cowboys are a messed-up team at this moment in time. They have multiple high-end stars who are compensated as such, many of whom are playing week. However, this team has looked so bad that many are wondering if the Cowboys will move off some of their younger talent before they have to pay them.
The Cowboys have already paid Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, but Micah Parsons remains without a deal. Rather than lament the fact that there will be some tough financial decisions to be made in the future, owner Jerry Jones has emphatically come out and shut down any chances of Dallas moving off No. 11.
"That's never been uttered in this organization that we don't have a future with Micah Parsons," Jones said. "Micah's a great player. You don't do well in this league letting guys like Micah, usually, leave the house." Anyone making Parsons trade ideas can officially put the pen down.
Jerry Jones shoots down rumors of Cowboys trading away Micah Parsons
Parsons has been as good as he usually is this year, even as he adjusted to playing in a Dan Quinn defense that is far different from what Dan Quinn was doing. Parsons, who has finished in the top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting in each of his last three seasons, has 8.5 sacks in 10 games and ranks near the top of the league in pressures.
The Cowboys' best shot at rebuilding the roster may not come through trading some of their big names for a hoard of assets, as has been speculated. Instead, Jones and Will McClay need to knock it out of the park in the draft. It's hard to imagine a scenario where trading away a player of his caliber will somehow improve the roster.
While the Cowboys do need to figure out where to cut corners in order to field a competitive team with high-end contracts like that of Prescott and Lamb, doing so without Parsons in the fold is not going to turn the Cowboys into a contender in a deeper NFC anytime soon.
Dallas' defense revolves entirely around Parsons, who should end up setting a new record for the highest-paid pass rusher in the league when it comes time to pay up. Moving off him would be taking such a gigantic step backward that it would be hard to imagine how bad this defense would be without him.