Cowboys VP Stephen Jones says Micah Parsons has ‘to want to be paid’ as he enters second phase of training camp without an extension
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Cowboys VP Stephen Jones says Micah Parsons has ‘to want to be paid’ as he enters second phase of training camp without an extension
Dallas Cowboys training camp entered a significant new phase on Sunday as players practiced for the first time with pads. Micah Parsons, as he has been since the start of training camp on Tuesday, was present for drills. But he was a passive participant and declined to don pads himself amid the highest-profile contract stalemate in the NFL. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, meanwhile, insisted that the Cowboys “want to pay” Parsons. He did so in a brief and not exactly clear statement to reporters, a day after Cowboys fans jeered his father and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones over the absence of a new contract. “It doesn’t change anything,” Stephen Jones said Sunday of fans calling for the Cowboys to ‘pay Micah.’ “We want to pay Micah too. He’s gotta want to be paid,” he said of fans’ calls for Parsons to get a new deal. “He was hurt six games last year,” Jones said of Parsons, who missed four of 17 games with injury.
They did so as Micah Parsons remained without a contract extension.
Parsons, as he has been since the start of training camp on Tuesday, was present for drills. But he was a passive participant and declined to don pads himself amid the highest-profile contract stalemate in the NFL.
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Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, meanwhile, insisted that the Cowboys “want to pay” Parsons. He did so in a brief and not exactly clear statement to reporters, a day after Cowboys fans jeered his father and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones over the absence of a new contract.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Stephen Jones said Sunday of fans calling for the Cowboys to ‘pay Micah.’ “We want to pay Micah too. He’s gotta want to be paid.”
What does that mean?
“He’s gotta want to be paid” can be read one of two ways:
1: Of course Parsons wants to be paid, why wouldn’t he?
2: Parsons, a three-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler in four NFL seasons, still has something to prove to be paid in the eyes of the Cowboys. At least in the terms that he’s seeking.
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It’s not exactly clear what Jones meant from his comments. But Cowboys fans can be easily forgiven if they take them in the vein of the more contentious second option.
Jerry Jones jeered, pelted with ‘pay Micah’ calls
Jerry Jones took the contentious stance from the start of training camp with bizarre comments that inaccurately portrayed Parsons as injury prone while taking a sideswipe at Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
“Just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re going to have him,” Jones said of Parsons at a Monday news conference. “He was hurt six games last year. Seriously. I remember signing a player for the highest-paid at the position in the league and he got knocked out two-thirds of the year — Dak Prescott.
“So there’s a lot of things you can think about, just as the player does, when you’re thinking about committing and guaranteeing money.”
Parsons was not “hurt six games last year.” He missed four of 17 games with injury. In his previous three seasons, Parsons played in 50 of 51 regular-season Cowboys games. He’s played his entire career with elite production at the most valuable defensive position in football.
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Cowboys fans understand this. And they let Jerry Jones hear it on Saturday when he addressed them during a camp session that was open to the public.
“Pay Micah,” fans yelled at Jones alongside a chorus of boos.
Jones powered through the jeering with his statement before walking off the dais to another round of jeering mixed with scattered applause.
Where Parsons stands
Parsons is seeking a deal that will make him among the highest-paid defenders in football after fellow All-Pro pass rushers Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt signed contracts in the offseason paying them $40-plus million per season. Watt signed a three-year, $123 million extension ahead of Steelers training camp that set the new bar.
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Parsons reported to training camp without his extension, but has been a limited participant since practices started on Tuesday. He watched Wednesday’s session from the sideline with back tightness, but declined to call himself a hold-in.
As practice escalated with pads on Sunday, Parsons was a passive participant. He showed up to the practice field without wearing pads.
When hitting drills ensued, Parsons (No. 11) stood by and held a tackling dummy while his teammates took part.
“Back tightness” or not, Parsons was not putting his body at risk in physical drills on Sunday in the absence of a new contract.
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Parsons addressed his stance with media on Tuesday when he told reporters he was discouraged over the lack of progress on a contract extension as he approaches the final season of his rookie deal.
“When you go around the league and you see these other teams taking care of their best guys,” Parsons said. “I see T.J. got taken care of. Maxx [Crosby] got taken care of. Myles got taken care of.
“He’s got two years left on his deal. You see a lot of people in our league getting taken care of, you wish you had that same type of energy.”
As of now, that “same type of energy” remains absent in Cowboys facilities. And Parsons’ short- and long-term future with the franchise remains in flux.