Micah Parsons fires back at potential Cowboys' contract meddling

The Dallas Cowboys offseason has been a whirlwind even though they've slept-walk through free agency. Keeping Micah Parsons a happy camper amid the turmoil should be the Cowboys' top priority. Luckily, Parsons was in a celebratory mood this week after the NFL passed a rule that allows the replay assistant to review and overturn incorrect calls for roughing the passer and intentional grounding.

Parsons will still be victimized by non-holding calls, but he's been screwed over myriad times by phantom roughing the passer penalties. This is great news for the Cowboys superstar, but his good mood didn't last long.

On the Yahoo Fantasy Football Show podcast, NFL reporter Jori Epstein was highly critical of Parsons. Epstein called out Parsons for not showing up in the playoff losses to the 49ers and referenced a source who called Parsons a "Hall of Famer player when the Cowboys are winning" but "average" when the Cowboys need him most.

Epstein's source compared Parsons to Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones, claiming that both players take off certain plays. The source proclaimed that Jones takes off plays, but makes them when they matter most. Parsons, on the other hand, isn't 100% on every play but makes them when they matter least.

With Parsons up for an extension after this season, Epstein added that she has questions about whether she'd keep Parsons long-term.

Micah Parsons has fiery response to potential Cowboys' contract meddling

An anti-Parsons spiel is the last thing we expected, and Cowboys fans suspect Jerry and Stephen Jones are behind it. The Joneses love negotiating through the media. They're seemingly doing exactly that with Dak Prescott. Earlier this offseason, the Dallas Morning News published a random anti-Prescott article that questioned if Prescott is a franchise quarterback.

Say what you will about Prescott, but he's clearly a franchise QB. He put that discourse to bed three or four years ago, if not longer.

It's possible the Parsons contract meddling has already started. Nuggets like the ones Epstein dropped that downgrade Parsons as a player have started leaking out. We obviously can't be certain that Dallas is behind it, but history makes this reek of a Jerry/Stephen Jones driven negotiation tactic.

Parsons isn't a perfect player, but he's arguably the best defensive player in the sport. He's clinched multiple wins for the Cowboys in hi scareer by doing exactly what Epstein's sources says he doesn't: show up in high-leverage moments.

It didn't take long for Parsons to catch wind of this and he responded by posting a chart from ESPN analytics that shows Parsons had the best pass-rush win rate among edge rushers despite being the most double-teamed edge.

Parsons dug deeper into the archives and retweeted a post from PFF's John Owning in November that shows Parsons actually shows up in big moments. His pass-rush win rate actually skyrocketed in the fourth quarter last season. If you go to Parsons' Twitter or X page, you'll see he reposted this.

Despite the Cowboys perceived best efforts, Parsons is not going to be denied. The Joneses will continue to try to lower Parsons' price tag, but nothing is stopping the 24-year-old phenom from becoming the highest-paid defender in NFL history.

Parsons sees and hears everything. One would think that Jerry and Stephen would know they're fighting a losing battle.

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