Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Should the Cowboys consider DeMarcus Lawrence for the Ring of Honor? A few weeks ago DeMarcus Lawrence left the Dallas Cowboys in free agency for the Seattle Seahawks. Leaving one team for another is quite normal. What made that situation stand out (to put it lightly) was how Lawrence commented about the team on his departure. He said in an interview in Seattle that Dallas would never win the Super Bowl and then had a back and forth with Micah Parsons on social media. It is possible that the whole situation impacted how you view DeMarcus Lawrence and his place in franchise history. Interestingly, while making some comments on Tuesday at the NFL’s owner meetings, Jerry Jones was asked about the entire saga with Lawrence. Jerry took the high road (for real) and praised Lawrence which is obviously the right move. What’s more is that he said that none of how it all went on will have any influence on his “desire” to put Tank in the team’s Ring of Honor. When asked about this, Jerry Jones was effusive in praise for DeMarcus Lawrence and the leadership he gave Cowboys. Said these comments have “zero” influence on his desire to put DeMarcus in Cowboys Ring of Honor https://t.co/ILyxOPAkON — Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) April 1, 2025 The Ring of Honor?! Let me be clear that I mean absolutely zero disrespect to Lawrence, but that kind of took me by surprise. Jimmy Johnson’s situation was clearly unique, but for the most part the people who have joined the team’s Ring of Honor have felt very obvious from the time they left the team. Zack Martin stands as a very possible option, but do we think that Lawrence does? They entered the NFL together as a part of the team’s draft class in 2014, but again I don’t know that the thought of the latter ever joining the Ring of Honor ever legitimately entered my mind. For our Wednesday poll we are asking all of you to vote and specify your thoughts/justifications in the comments below!

Think you can figure out which Cowboys player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game! Hey Cowboys fans! We’re back for another day of the Blogging The Boys in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form. If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article. Previous games Tuesday, April 1, 2025Monday, March 31, 2025Sunday, March 30, 2025 Play more SB Nation in-5 trivia games NFL in-5MLB in-5MMA in-5 Blogging The Boys in-5 instructions The goal of the game is to guess the correct Cowboys player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form. Enjoy!

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The path that the Cowboys took to paying Dak Prescott was interesting to say the least. The Dallas Cowboys are always in the news for the drama surrounding signing their star players. There’s this whole song and dance that seems to accompany each new deal, and it drags on for what seems like forever. Recently, Brian Murphy, the founder and CEO of Athletes First, sat down with Dak Prescott’s agents, Todd France and A.J. Stephens, and gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the negotiations that went on with Jerry and Stephen in Prescott’s contract extensions. Some of the things they said were things we already knew, but other things were quite interesting. Here are some of the nuggets from this insightful, in-depth look at Prescott’s contract ordeal. Four vs. Five The Cowboys engaged in conversations about getting a deal done after Prescott’s third season, which is the earliest a team can offer a veteran contract to a player on a rookie deal. It’s been stated repeatedly over the years that the big holdup with his first deal is the length. The Joneses wanted longer terms, which lowers his overall cost, while his agents wanted a four-year deal, allowing Dak to hit the market sooner and capitalize on a market that would then be much higher. There’s really not much to say about this issue as both sides had good reasons for wanting what they wanted. It’s not surprising that things ended with a standoff. Baiting with guarantees With neither side willing to budge on the length, the front office enticed Prescott with very high guarantees. The hope was that a player who had made less than $3 million over his first three seasons would jump at the opportunity to secure so much money. But France was not having it. He and Prescott had great conversations where they brainstormed every scenario and developed contingency plans. They felt good enough about their options that they were okay letting things play out without a deal. It was tough to turn down that much money, but in the overall grand scheme, more money could be made by holding strong. Tag, you’re it We all know what happened after the two sides failed to reach a deal. The Cowboys placed the franchise tag on him in March of 2020. Negotiations continued in the summer leading up to the July 15th deadline, but once again, the obstacle was the length. And once again, no deal got done. Prescott plays on the tag for $31.4 million that year, and sadly, tragedy strikes. Dak suffers a catastrophic foot injury in Week 5 and misses the remainder of the season. The critics came out in full force on how negligent it was for Prescott to not take the deal, but his side never looked back. All the focus was put on the healing process. Fortunately, surgery and recovery go well and Prescott heals up fine without any concerns about his future. The best contract of all time Negotiations picked up again in the spring of 2021, and once again, the Cowboys presented a five-year deal, which France quickly said they were not going to go through again. The Cowboys agreed to do four years, but the numbers still didn’t line up at first. However, three weeks later, a deal was done as they agreed on a four-year, $160 million deal, making Prescott the highest-paid player in NFL history. While the Joneses still ended up getting their five-year deal when you include the franchise tag, Prescott’s agents were able to get a front-loaded deal and added a little insurance policy into the language. Even with a deal imminent, Dak’s agent required them to franchise tag him a second time as a formality just so the chance of him being tagged a third time at any point in his career would be nearly impossible because of the financial implications of such a move made it cost-prohibitive. Team Dak made sure his tag days were over. Dak almost caved on a small detail There was a point late in the negotiations where the two sides were haggling over contract language, and Prescott wanted it to be over. It was a stipulation that could void guarantees if he was ever fined. Dak, believing it was a non-issue because he would never be fined, was willing to cave and just make the deal, but France protected his client. He told Prescott to sit tight, and it would get worked out. Three days later, it did. No such clause existed. Ironically, it turned out to be a good thing because Prescott did get fined the following year for making remarks condoning fans for throwing garbage at the officials after the Cowboys lost their Wild Card game against the San Francisco 49ers when time ran out on them after not being able to get a QB spike off. Get it done, or Dak’s gone Prescott didn’t ask for a lot of things, but he did make one request. If the two sides could not get a deal done by the start of the 2024 season, there would be no negotiations taking place during the year. He didn’t want to go into his bye week and hear about this or that with his contract. For Dak, that time was all about football. So, if they couldn’t reach an agreement by the start of the season, that’s it. No more talks, and he’s content to hit free agency in 2025. Additionally, his agents mentioned that the offseason would see a bidding war like no other, and France felt that would mean the end of his time in Dallas. Fortunately, the Joneses were aware of this also, and it never got to that point, although they held their breath as long as they could with a new deal not getting done until hours before kickoff. Alas, Prescott was locked down long-term, and disaster was averted. The “new” best contract of all time Again,

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The latest news from around the division. No resolution reached on fate of Eagles’ signature Tush Push – Dave Zangaro, NBC Sports Philadelphia It seems a decision on the Tush Push won’t be made this month. PALM BEACH, Fla. — The NFL’s debate on the future of the Tush Push has been tabled, according to multiple reports. The proposal from the Green Bay Packers presented this week at the NFL’s annual meetings was to make the push element of the Philadelphia Eagles’ signature quarterback sneak play illegal. Opinions were clearly split on the Tush Push entering Tuesday and this debate will be revisited. The next league meetings are in May. The proposal would have needed support from 24 of 32 owners to pass and it clearly didn’t have the votes. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, there were 16 teams that opposed the rule change. Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said the debate lasted 30-40 minutes and went beyond potential player safety concerns into the aesthetics of the play. The fate of the Tush Push has been one of the biggest topics at these meetings at The Breakers with some strong opinions on both sides. The Eagles have obviously been pushing hard (no pun intended) to keep a play that has been huge for them and hasn’t worked nearly as well for other teams. “You guys know my opinion on it,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said on Tuesday morning ahead of the scheduled vote. “I’m not going to continue to dive into it. My opinion is very well documented and I won’t continue to dive into that. I think maybe that’s why there’s so many cameras here today to talk about that. I still stand where I stood when we talked at the Combine. We’ll see how it goes down. Have I been lobbying? I’ve talked to a couple people, yeah. We’ll see how it goes today.” Jameis Winston hoping to be part of ‘paradigm shift’ for Giants: ‘I saw that window of opportunity open’ – Erich Edholm, NFL.com Despite being the backup, Winston wants to bring change to New York. Jameis Winston said he wanted an opportunity to play this season, and the New York Giants apparently provided him the best opportunity for that — even with a more accomplished quarterback now on the roster. The Giants introduced Winston to the media on Monday, and Winston explained the thought process behind signing a two-year deal with the Giants coming off their 3-14 campaign in 2024. The only remaining QB from last season is Tommy DeVito. “This team is looking for a complete paradigm shift,” Winston said. “This team is looking to make a splash, and it’s no better place to do it with no greater calling to do right here in New York City being a New York football Giant.” The Giants, of course, also later signed veteran QB Russell Wilson, and the pre-draft presumption is that Wilson is the early leader for the starting role in New York. After all, Wilson has started 11 or more games in each of his 13 NFL seasons, even while joining his third team in four years. Winston has started only 17 games total over his past five seasons and hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2019 with the Buccaneers. “My initial vision, approaching this offseason, was to find an opportunity that gave me either a starting role or a bridge opportunity to be a starting quarterback,” Winston said, “and I believe this situation is a situation that looks similar. “Whether it’s a veteran quarterback that I have to compete with and help serve and help make better for this team or it’s a quarterback from college who I have to help get better, I have to compete with and serve.” Commanders: Jayden Daniels to polish his dual-threat tools – John Keim, ESPN Washington’s QB wants to hone his craft this offseason. PALM BEACH, Fla., — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels used his legs to escape trouble and make big plays as a rookie. But that’s not what stood out to the Commanders — and it’s why they’re excited about what he’ll do for an encore. “He’s established the throwing side. If he wasn’t a dynamic runner, he’d still be an excellent quarterback,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said at the NFL’s annual league meeting. As Daniels and the Commanders prepare for his second season — they begin spring workouts April 21 — the question will be how he improves upon his rookie season. And how to do so while defenses study how to defend him better. Daniels was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and finished seventh in MVP voting. He achieved those feats because of his dual-threat ability. But, though Daniels ran for 891 yards and six touchdowns, it was his ability as a passer that helped elevate his play — as well as Washington’s. But his legs increased his playmaking ability. “He adds the value of mobility and being outside the pocket and creating scrambles to run and on scrambles to pass,” Quinn said. “Teams wanted to try a certain unique thing, a spy or what have you, but we’ll just continue to look at that as we progress.” “We thought he made a lot of improvement extending plays,” Quinn said. “Early on in the season, they were extending to run, and then now they got extending to throw the ball down the field. But for him, the footwork, that’s one thing I know he’s going to dig in hard on this year.”

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images The Cowboys are talking like they want to keep Cooper Beebe at center. There are a number of needs on the Dallas Cowboys roster at the moment. We can sit here and fairly note that wide receiver, cornerback, pass rusher or anywhere along the offensive line are positions that could/should be addressed near the top of the NFL Draft. That feels fair. Some of our opinions on this front have to do with the way that we see the team’s roster and potential depth chart at the moment. Obviously if a player is here or there then that impacts how any single person can view it. One of these potential twists, so to speak, involve one of last season’s favorite rookies in Cooper Beebe. The Cowboys landed Beebe in the third round thanks to a first-round trade and started him at center and we were all quite pleased. It felt like the beginning of a new era, and Beebe would man the spot for years to come like Tyler Biadasz and Travis Frederick before him. This still remains possible, but the math along the offensive line is significantly different now and almost different than the entire Biadasz and Frederick eras with Zack Martin having retired. Martin’s departure means the Cowboys have a need at right guard and Cooper is a potential answer to that question. Brian Schottenheimer noted on Tuesday at the NFL’s owner meetings in Florida that the plan for now is to keep Beebe at center. Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer said that keeping Cooper Beebe at center is the plan “right now.” He had this to say on if Brock Hoffman can be a 17-game starter at right guard: “I would never bet against Brock Hoffman. Brock Hoffman man, if I was in a back room of a bar and had… pic.twitter.com/qtN7RB8sYL — Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) April 1, 2025 In the same quote Schottenheimer expressed confidence in Brock Hoffman as the potential slide-in at right guard which is a logical place to go. An offensive line (from left to right) of Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Brock Hoffman and Terence Steele makes sense on many levels. An often said thing about this type of discussion is that you do not want to solve one problem by creating another. Moving Beebe to guard sounds great in theory, but then the Cowboys have a need at center. There are potential answers there as well obviously, but I don’t think anyone wants to leave it to a largely inexperienced player. It is also possible that this is some gamesmanship from the Cowboys. The NFL Draft is later this month and they could have their eyes on an offensive lineman or two and maybe even a center. Holding cards close to the vest at this point in time is wise. Where do you want to see Cooper Beebe play in 2025? Center or right guard?

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The draft strategy for the Cowboys is becoming more clear. April is officially here, and that means the Dallas Cowboys are preparing for the avenue they covet the most when it comes to roster building, the NFL draft. The Cowboys hold the 12th overall pick thanks to a disappointing 7-10 campaign last season. So, they’ll have their pick of premium talent once they are on the clock. On Tuesday morning, head coach Brian Schottenheimer spoke to the media at the annual NFL Meetings. When asked what the Cowboys are looking for in the first round, Schottenheimer mentioned the best player available approach. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer on their goal with the 12th overall pick pic.twitter.com/otE4QheV2q — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 1, 2025 The positions that Schottenheimer mentioned are key here. Wide receiver has been one of the top positions that have been linked to the Cowboys as far as first-round picks go. Tetairoa McMillan out of Arizona is probably the people’s choice if Dallas goes the receiver route to kick things off. Matthew Golden out of Texas and Luther Burden out of Missouri are possible options as well at the position. Cornerback is a position that the Cowboys will certainly have some top-tier talent to choose from. Team owner Jerry Jones is infatuated with Colorado’s Travis Hunter, and for good reason. However, that would require moving up in the draft, and the price is likely too much for Dallas. Will Johnson out of Michigan has been mentioned as a potential pick for Dallas, and playing in a more zone oriented scheme, which is what Matt Eberflus will run, would likely better suit him. Jahdae Barron out of Texas is another prospect to remember with his zone scheme ability. The Cowboys need help on the edge with the departure of DeMarcus Lawrence and uncertainty in the pieces that remain behind Michah Parsons. Georgia’s Mykel Williams is a name that has been mentioned for the Cowboys on the edge in round one, rightfully so with his high run-stopping prowess and potential pass rush ability once he’s developed more. Mike Green out of Marshall, who led the nation in sacks in 2024, has been projected between picks 10-15 by some, which is right in the Cowboys range. Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. and Shemar Stewart are players to watch as well. Offensive tackle was also mentioned by Schottenheimer. That position won’t be a popular choice, but it’s definitely has some first-round options that Dallas could explore, like Missouri’s Armand Membou, Ohio State’s Josh Simmons, and Kelvin Banks, Jr. out of Texas. When draft time rolls around, remember the positions that Schottenheimer outlined here.

Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images How do you feel about some NFL owners wanting to outlaw the tush push? NFL owners are convening this week in Florida to discuss all sorts of manners relative to the league as a whole. It is in situations like these that rules are changed and protocols are set for the future to come. Oftentimes we applaud the rule changes that the league comes up with. They are very born of necessary evolution what with the game having changed thanks to any number of reasons, but sometimes they are the league tinkering with something for the sake of tinkering. Consider how the league overreacted to the pass interference penalty that was not called against the Los Angeles Rams (which would have benefited the New Orleans Saints) in the 2018 NFC Championship Game. They made pass interference an even more complicated thing and had to undo it. In our current moment some NFL owners allegedly want to outlaw/ban the tush push that the Philadelphia Eagles have popularized. Let the record fully show that I, and I imagine all of you, hate the Eagles with all of me. They are the worst of the worst. But what I think is ridiculous is for the league or any one coach/owner/whoever to suggest that the play should be banned. Why? I have yet to hear a legitimate reason for this. Are we just upset that the Eagles are good at it? If this is the true reason, and I cannot see how it wouldn’t be, then wanting to get rid of it is among the most farfetched things I can think to waste people’s time with at an actual meeting where work is supposed to be done. We didn’t suggest to outlaw sidearm passing when quarterbacks started doing that. Nobody freaked out and said that hurdling players shouldn’t be a thing anymore when runners started to do so. You or I or whoever may think that the tush push is annoying, but the truth of everything is that it is simply something that the Eagles are good at. Very good, in fact. If somebody else – anybody else – wanted to be that good at it then they could work towards that. These are my thoughts, but I am anxious to hear yours in today’s open prompt.

Think you can figure out which Cowboys player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game! Hey Cowboys fans! We’re back for another day of the Blogging The Boys in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form. If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article. Previous games Monday, March 31, 2025Sunday, March 30, 2025Saturday, March 29, 2025 Play more SB Nation in-5 trivia games NFL in-5MLB in-5MMA in-5 Blogging The Boys in-5 instructions The goal of the game is to guess the correct Cowboys player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form. Enjoy!

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images Stephen Jones thinks we are all wrong for saying the Cowboys wait too long to do deals. The Dallas Cowboys are fine being patient. Consider that over the course of the last 14 or so months that the team has had negotiations with their franchise quarterback, top wide receiver and elite pass rusher at the top (seemingly) of their to-do list (obviously there were other things on the list). Before last season ever began, CeeDee Lamb had come close to becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. Right about when the ink was drying on his deal Dak Prescott did become the highest-paid player period in the NFL. Micah Parsons had yet to be paid, but it stands to reason that he will wind up becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback when it is all said and done. That last paragraph was full of words and verbiage as opposed to numbers. What Lamb and Prescott got in terms of their deals was obviously very large, but the “highest-paid” element is something that we have seen change from player to player across the league as a whole. There has yet to be another quarterback to get a deal since Dak did, but when one does they will in all likelihood have that label applied to their contract. Just look at how that phenomenon happened to/around Dak after the deal he signed in 2021. Living in a world of this logic, NFL teams have to accept that they will make players who play the positions in question top dollar whenever the time comes (assuming the players have proven to be worth market rate). There are exceptions to every rule, but the laws of supply and demand have existed for as long as time now. It is fair to say that when it comes to players who you really believe in (like Lamb or Prescott or Parsons) that getting the deal in question done as soon as possible sees you pay the lowest amount possible, even if it is the “highest” at the time you strike it. This appears to be a philosophy that Stephen Jones disagrees with. Speaking at the league’s owner meetings he touched on the idea that the Cowboys are working with Micah Parsons towards an extension, but he added that they do not feel that they have a habit of waiting too long. Regarding the latter point, he outright said that they disagree with people who say that they do. “I don’t want to get into any details,” Stephen Jones said from The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday before the annual league meeting starts Monday. “It’s not fair for anybody, other than we’ve got a great working relationship with Micah and think the world of him. Like I’ve said, we’ve had good visits with him and feel good about where we’re headed.” … Jones did try to squash talk that the Cowboys wait too long to get deals done with their star players, which ends up costing them more money in the long run. “We’ve done the early before, and we’ve waited until the end to do them,” Jones said. “A lot of it is just the negotiation itself. Some of them take longer than others. And we put about zero credibility or credence into people saying you wait too long.” Odds are you are not operating an NFL front office (if you are, thanks for checking out BTB) and I can tell you that I am not, but despite that being the case you and I both know that the Cowboys do wait too long. Consider that the team could have negotiated extensions with Lamb and/or Prescott in the 2023 offseason, before the quarterback market specifically reached an entirely different level thanks to Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow just to name a few. While Dallas could have gotten a Lamb deal done then as well they did not and instead waited so long that Justin Jefferson set the market at an incredibly high place. Lamb did not totally outdo Jefferson in every respect, but the point is that if the team had been proactive about those things then they would have literally paid less than they ultimately did. Regarding Parsons, he was first eligible for an extension last offseason. If the Cowboys had taken care of him at that point then they would not have the newly-negotiated deals that Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby got for Parsons’ representation to try and supersede. Again, it is simply citing supply and demand to say that the Cowboys could have paid less for several deals if they had gotten them done earlier. At this point there are no big-time pass rushers left on the market outside of Trey Hendrickson. It makes sense that he wants to get paid after leading the league in sacks and it also makes sense that if he got a new deal somewhere that it would serve as another bar for Parsons and his representation to try and clear. The Jones family can disagree with that all they want, but allow us to reference the words of someone who Stephen may trust a lot. Consider that Stephen Jones said back in 2021 that the team waited too long to take care of Dak Prescott’s extension (the first major one). Jones was asked by Pat Doney of KXAS-TV NBC 5 to name the Cowboys’ ”biggest swing and miss” during Jones’ tenure in the front office, and Jones said it was having Prescott play out his full four-year rookie contract, and then play one year on the franchise tag, before finally signing him to a long-term deal. “Probably would’ve signed Dak the first time around,” Jones said. “It would’ve been better for everybody.” That’s pretty funny, isn’t it?

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Amidst the flurry of news across the NFL landscape in March, including free agency, trades and extensions that saw the market reset higher for players at nearly every position thanks to the continually rising the salary cap, the Dallas Cowboys have been largely quiet. This in spite of the fact that two-time first-team All-Pro, four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Micah Parsons remains unsigned past the 2025 season. Extension-eligible since the end of the 2023 regular season came to a conclusion almost fifteen months ago, the Dallas front office has once again waited so long to reach an extension with a key player that the cost of the extension will cost the Cowboys tens of millions of dollars in additional cap space. It was early March when Maxx Crosby reset the market for defensive ends, becoming the highest paid non-quarterback in league history with a three-year, $106.5 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. Then Danielle Hunter and the Houston Texans came to agreement on a one-year extension at a slightly higher $36.5 million, before Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns blew the top off the non-quarterback market with a four-year, $160 million extension. Not to be left out, the Cincinnati Bengals then threw their hat in the ring, signing Ja’Marr Chase to a four-year, $161 million contract that set yet another new high for the non-quarterback market, and giving further support to $40 million per year being the new baseline for top players at the highest-paid positions. For Cowboys fans, this is all too familiar. The team cost itself cap space waiting to extend DeMarcus Lawrence. Then they cost themselves cap space waiting to extend Amari Cooper after having traded a first-round pick to acquire him. Then they handled extension negotiations similarly with Dak Prescott in 2021. The did it with CeeDee Lamb in 2024. And they did it with Prescott again in 2024, as well. Meaning that now, with soon-to-be 26-year old Micah Parsons and the front office in negotiations on a long-term extension, it’s happening again. Had they extended Parsons prior to the explosive growth at the top of the market, the price tag perhaps could have come in somewhere in the neighborhood of the Crosby or Hunter extensions, just slightly higher than the $34 million per year extension Nick Bosa signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. Now, though, with the top of the market for the position reset by Garrett at the $40 million per year mark, the reality of the situation is that reports of Parsons looking for a five-year, $200 million contract are not unrealistic. Micah Parsons’ agent and Dallas’ front office discussed a contract at the scouting combine. No serious talks have occurred since Our @calvinwatkins details the star pass rusher’s quest to become NFL’s first $200 million defensive player https://t.co/6S2UaCTnjf pic.twitter.com/GSWuo1tTrK — SportsDayDFW (@SportsDayDFW) March 28, 2025 The question then becomes whether those are contracts that the Cowboys would look to sign. Sure, both sides would like to have Parsons on the team and wreaking havoc on opposing offenses for years to come, but with multiple contract experts and observers now projecting a deal north of $40 million per year, it’s not inconceivable that the Dallas front office could wait even longer. Micah Parsons extension: If Parsons wants to really reset the market, he could look to match Watt’s 15.34% cap at signing. That would put Parsons at $42.8M AAV. pic.twitter.com/CmUEjNgXhO — Jake Cardonick (@JakeCar120) March 9, 2025 The fact that an extension could become that pricey for the team could lead to the contract talk in the media dragging out for years. Sure, the Cowboys don’t want the circus that would inevitably surround extended negotiations, but in the short term a 2026 franchise tag at $28.8 million might could carry more allure than a $200 million extension, and it wouldn’t be the first time Dallas has let things drag out while a member of the roster played the season on a franchise tag. In short, the Dallas front office has once again put themselves in a position where they have cost the team cap space by waiting to ink Parsons to an extension, but with the ability to tag Parsons if the two sides can’t come to an agreement between now and the start of the season, it’s a situation that could be talked about for a long time.