Micah Parsons drama continues to hang over Cowboys, but Jerry Jones is unfazed

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Aug 4, 2025

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — This is hardly Jerry Jones’ first rodeo.

Throughout his 36-year ownership of the Dallas Cowboys, Jones has dug in during drawn-out contract negotiations with star players from Emmitt Smith to Dak Prescott.

The latest is pass rusher Micah Parsons, who requested a trade last week as contract discussions stagnated.

“This is really nothing new, at all, with Micah,” Jones told USA Today in an interview published Monday.

“It took a long time with Emmitt Smith,” Jones said. “Same thing with [Zack] Martin two years ago. [CeeDee] Lamb last year. When you have the ability for players under contract to basically renegotiate or say, ‘I’m not going to play the contract,’ then you have those things happen.”

Jones, 82, conducted the interview with USA Today last week, two days before Parsons went public with his trade request.

Over the weekend, Jones struck a similar tone when he told concerned Cowboys fans, “Don’t lose any sleep” over Parsons’ trade request.

Parsons, 26, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and seeks an extension. He has been “holding in” at training camp, meaning he has attended practices at the Cowboys’ facility in Oxnard, Calif., but is not participating.

After showing up to Saturday’s practice out of uniform, Parsons wore his jersey over a hoodie with sweatpants on Monday. The linebacker remains “really good” in team meetings, head coach Brian Schottenheimer said.

“Very engaged. Asked good questions,” Schottenheimer said Monday. “I don’t think that’s going to change.”

Parsons recorded at least 12 sacks in each of his four NFL seasons, despite missing four games last year with a high ankle sprain. He was a Pro Bowler all four years and a first-team All-Pro selection in two of them.

Earlier this offseason, defensive end Myles Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the Cleveland Browns, while T.J. Watt further reset the pass-rusher market with a three-year, $123 million extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Last year, Lamb held out of training camp before signing a four-year, $136 million extension. Prescott reached a four-year, $240 million contract right before the Cowboys’ season opener, making him the NFL’s highest-paid player at the time.

“This business is business-first, right?” Prescott told USA Today of the Parsons negotiations. “We always say this game is a business, but it’s business first.”

Lamb, meanwhile, wrote on social media last week, “Just pay the man what you owe em. No need for the extra curricular.”

Asked about the Cowboys’ reputation for prolonged negotiations, Jones told USA Today, “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t do it that way.”

“I should be trying to get the most value for the Cowboys. I’ve seen players I wish we had renegotiated their contracts earlier and I’ve had several that I was sorry I renegotiated their contract earlier,” Jones said.

“The idea that if you wait there’s more money [spent] forgets that in between that wait, you get to evaluate and you frankly get to see if you’re dealing with the same physical elements of it,” he said.

The Cowboys are scheduled to host the Giants in Week 2.

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