FRISCO, Texas — Quarterback Dak Prescott knows a thing or two about drawn out contract negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys front office.
The former fourth-round pick was franchise-tagged twice before signing his second NFL contract, a four-year, $160 million deal in 2021. Following the third Pro Bowl appearance of his career after leading the NFL with 36 touchdown passes in 2023 and finishing as the league’s MVP runner-up, Prescott re-signed with Dallas on a four-year, $240 million extension hours before kickoff of Week 1 last season at the Cleveland Browns. The 31-year-old opted to participate in the Cowboys’ entire offseason program last year prior to signing his latest contract, but it helped that talks weren’t as contentious with it being Prescott’s third contract.
Cowboys three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, 26, is currently trying to break the bank on a new contract for the first time following four NFL seasons in which he’s recorded 12 sacks in each one. He’s the only player since sacks became an individually tracked statistic in 1982 to do so in his first four years in the league. Other top tier edge rushers like Cincinnati Bengals‘ Trey Hendrickson and Pittsburgh Steelers‘ T.J. Watt have decided to hold out of mandatory minicamp in search of new deals, but that hasn’t been Parsons’ approach.
He threw on his helmet Wednesday at mandatory minicamp and participated in multiple position drills, something that isn’t typically seen in the offseason from players in contract standoffs. On Tuesday, he and owner Jerry Jones spoke one-on-one off to the side at practice for 25 to 30 minutes. Parsons relayed that Jones expressed his appreciation for his presence at minicamp. That’s one of a few reasons why Prescott believes Parsons will eventually get re-signed this offseason.
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“Yeah, and that’s not to knock any of those other guys. Those situations are all independent and different. I’m sure Micah feels the same way. Don’t compare him to Trey [Hendrickson] or whoever else it is. We’re all very confident that Micah’s going to get this deal done,” Prescott said Thursday. “It starts with Micah and Jerry and I think they’ve both alluded to that. Obviously it’s a situation and position that I’ve been in a couple times. He understands the wait and just doing everything in between there the right way.”
With four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence departing for the Seattle Seahawks in free agency this offseason, Parsons is now THE leader of Dallas’ defensive line. That’s why the benefits for him practicing through his contract stalemate also have intangible benefits for his teammates since Parsons has been like a literal additional coach on the field.
“It’s huge just to be able to have him compete with Sam [Williams] when he’s [Williams] getting back [from a torn ACL] and just to get us when we’re having real conversations in the meeting room,” Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said on Thursday. “Just hearing his input and him imparting some of his knowledge on to the younger guys, which is exactly what we need. Having him around so young guys can pick his brain. I’ve seen him pulling Dono [Donovan Ezeiruaku] to the side and having some conversations with him. So it’s definitely good having him in the building. … Without him in the room, the D-line is not complete. Having him in the room, you get to see what the whole group looks like as a unit, and you’re like yeah.”
Parsons’ tips have ranged from all areas of technique from footwork to the way defensive linemen angle their bodies on the pass rush and more.
“Just being vocal and understanding what looks right,” Parsons said Tuesday. “They’re going through the drills and guys ask me ‘how do I look?’ The simple things. ‘Well how’s my footwork?’ It’s not always the major things that make football great. It’s always the small details, the footwork, the positioning, the angles, things like that. I think I can contribute, and we’ll go in and we’ll watch film together, and I could tell guys what I see from a vivid experience about going through a lot.”
Perhaps Parsons will next experience what Prescott has twice: signing a market-resetting extension to remain a Dallas Cowboys.
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Author: Garrett Podell
June 12, 2025 | 6:40 pm
