Stephen Jones Offers Update On Possible Extension For Micah Parsons

Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones was asked about getting an extension in place for star DE Micah Parsons this offseason.

Jones didn’t commit to anything but did say that he doesn’t see “a lot of extenuating situations” that would prevent them from doing so. 

“Every contract negotiation’s different,” he said. “CeeDee, there were still other receivers that were trying to get their deal done, and some of them still haven’t gotten those deals done, as we all know. Dak’s deal, we were working on that, and Dak was in, and it didn’t really affect anything in terms of what we were doing. He was practicing every day and working hard, and as you know, he’s not distracted by things like that. So, the CeeDee deal was just different, and we’ll see how Micah’s deal goes. I don’t necessarily know that there’s a lot of extenuating situations out there that would precede us from being able to get our hands around something with Micah, but we’ll see.”

Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reported last week that the Cowboys have not started discussions with Parsons about a potential contract extension.

Parsons is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is set to make $24.007 million in 2025 on his fifth-year option.

Watkins adds that talks could begin at the combine this week, with the Dallas front office and Parsons’ agent both being present.

Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero noted the Cowboys have had internal discussions about the possibility of trading Parsons.

The Cowboys will face a challenge balancing a contract for Parsons on top of deals for QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb, all three of whom are or could be right at the top of the market for their respective positions, as well as leaving enough to fill out the rest of the roster. 

Rapoport and Pelissero explain the Cowboys have to decide whether the best way forward is adding Parsons to that list and making the roster even more top-heavy, or exploring a godfather offer with tons of draft picks. 

For what it’s worth, Parsons said in December he wasn’t necessarily prioritizing being the highest-paid defensive player and would prefer to have a deal wrapped up before training camp. 

Parsons, 25, was the former No. 12 overall pick by the Cowboys in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He’s in the final year of a four-year, $17,079,792 rookie contract that included a $9,781,667 signing bonus.

Dallas exercised the fifth-year option for Parsons and he’s slated to make $21.32 million guaranteed in 2025. 

In 2024, Parsons appeared in 13 games for the Cowboys and recorded 43 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one pass deflection. 

We’ll have more on Parsons as the news is available.