If you stumble upon trade scenarios involving Micah Parsons while consuming your fix of Dallas Cowboys news, please take it with a pinch of salt.
Yes, NFL Network reported on Super Bowl Sunday that Dallas has had conversations about trading Parsons instead of paying him a lucrative extension. However, there has been no evidence to suggest the Cowboys don't want Parsons part of their long-term future.
While the front office has a penchant for dragging its feet with extensions for homegrown stars, both Jerry and Stephen Jones have been adamant about keeping Parsons.
At the same time, though, the pressure is on to get a deal done in a timely manner after recent comments made by Parsons. The All-Pro pass rusher wants his extension signed before free agency so the team can re-sign its own free agents and splurge elsewhere. It benefits all parties to get this over with.
In catching up with reporters after a wholesome afternoon spent with Make-A-Wish children on Thursday, though, Parsons provided a concerning update on his contract negotiations.
Micah Parsons provides worrying update on contract talks with Cowboys
"Oh, it's good, you know? It was good," Parsons said, via team writer Patrik Walker. "I really have a lot of respect for Jerry. We have great conversations all the time. There's definitely a plan in place, but we'll just see how everything plays out. There's been no progress yet, but I'm pretty confident that something will happen, so we'll see."
There is a couple of ways to interpret that.
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From a glass half-full standpoint, free agency is still three weeks away. There's plenty of time for a deal to get done between now and the new league year.
On the other side of the coin, that there hasn't been any progress is a cause for concern, especially when you consider that Parsons has stated publicly that he wants to sign sooner rather than later.
Parsons also recognizes the importance of being aggressive in free agency. That was hammered home after the Eagles defeated the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59.
"We’ve jus got to be aggressive the same way [other teams] did," said Parsons. "I don’t want to sit back and watch other teams build and build and us stay the same... I want to see us become aggressive and get some players that will come in and make an impact."
That is exactly what you want to hear from your face of the franchise.
While Myles Garrett is another candidate to reset the EDGE market this offseason, the market is currently set at $34 million. The Cowboys know all the benchmarks they need to clear in terms of annual average value, guaranteed money and total contract value.
Letting negotiations bleed into training camp would support the claims that Jerry Jones is not serious about winning. Not only is Parsons open to signing his extension right now, but extending him would free up $18.269 million in cap room, per Over The Cap.
There is still time for the Joneses to come good, but the lack of progress does not inspire any confidence given what transpired last offseason with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
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