No Progress: Cowboys' HC expects Micah Parsons at minicamp despite lack of new extension

USA Today

2 days ago

No Progress: Cowboys' HC expects Micah Parsons at minicamp despite lack of new extension
Organized team activities are winding down for the 2025 Cowboys, and that means things will be heating up soon. After Tuesday's voluntary session and then one more on Thursday, attendance will become mandatory for players beginning next week.
And that's when the presence (or absence) of superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons- who is waiting for a contract extension that should make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history- will escalate from mild curiosity to full-blown obsession for offseason observers of the team.
But new Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer isn't worried and believes the four-time Pro Bowler will be there when the roll is called.
"I would assume," he told reporters on Tuesday before the day's practice. "Micah and I talked a couple days ago. Again, he's doing a little bit of traveling. But everything he and I have talked about, I expect he will be here."
That optimism does not, however, mean a new contract is being finalized. Or even worked on. According to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News, team EVP Stephen Jones says there has been "nothing moving" on the Parsons contract talks.
The game of chicken regarding a new deal has become an annual tradition, it seems, for the Cowboys and their top players. Last year it was wide receiver CeeDee Lamb holding out all summer and racking up seven digits worth of fines before finally coming to terms 13 days before the season opener.
Dak Prescott didn't put pen to paper until just hours before that Week 1 kickoff. But at least he was around for training camp.
Schottenheimer points out that Parsons, who was present at the first week of OTAs this spring, hasn't gone completely off the grid either.
"'Being present' doesn't necessarily mean 'being here' all the time," he said. "It doesn't necessarily mean having to practice. It means being present, being around the guys. We all don't see the things that some of these guys do away from here. There's a lot of work being done away from here, whether it's with other players in the NFL, our guys, things like that. The thing that I know about Micah is Micah wants to be here. He's excited about what we're building. He's been a big proponent of that. You can lead a lot of different ways."
Parsons has previously said he won't hold out as he awaits a new deal. But that was months ago, when it seemed like a record-breaking extension was imminent. The just-turned-26-year-old Parsons is set to make just over $24 million on his fifth-year option, but will find himself in the $40 million-per-year neighborhood with his next pact.
The big question is whether that deal will come this summer from Jones and the Cowboys or from another team next March. That latter option- letting Parsons leave to go to the highest bidder- seems downright crazy. But every day that Parsons does not have a guarantee on paper from Dallas is another day that fans are holding their breath, another day the long-term future of the mega-talented defender becomes a little more uncertain.
But the unflappable Schottenheimer insists he isn't among that crowd.
"This is a business, and they're working through the business part of this deal," the coach said of Parsons on Tuesday. "But everything that I've asked him to do- no different from everybody that's here- he's been great with. So that gets me excited. I'm a big fan of Micah."
The Cowboys faithful are, too. But they'll be even bigger fans of having him in the building and contractually secured beyond 2025.
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