The Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive play-caller for the 2025 NFL season.
Cowboys players, coaches and staff arrived in Oxnard, California for training camp this week. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott are back and healthy for the franchise’s first season under coach Brian Schottenheimer.
On defense, star edge rusher Micah Parsons leads the way as former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus takes over on that side of the ball.
Parsons, the No. 12 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Parsons and the Cowboys have yet to agree on a long-term extension.
Parsons attended minicamp, and his team attempted to secure an extension last offseason but was denied as the team prioritized extensions for Lamb and Prescott. It’s no surprise Parsons’ contract was a big line of questioning for Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones at the opening day of training camp.
‘Just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re going to have him,’ Jones said. ‘He was hurt six games last year, seriously. We’ve signed, 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 in 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.’
To be clear, Parsons missed four games in 2024, not six as Jones states here. Parsons still managed 12 sacks in 13 games and made the Pro Bowl for the fourth year in a row.
‘Contracts are four, five years, okay?’ Jones continued. ‘There’s a lot of water under the bridge if you step out there and do something in the first two or three. You can get hit by a car. Seriously.’
When asked if he had talked to Parsons yet in these negotiations, Jones said he hadn’t.
‘I’ve talked with people that have talked to him, let’s put it like that,’ he said. ‘I don’t necessarily talk to these agents or I don’t necessarily talk to attorneys and I do stuff everywhere. And I don’t necessarily talk to the people that are hired to do certain things. I talk to the principals 90% of the time.’
Parsons has been one of the best players in the NFL since entering the league in 2021. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year and was a first-team All-Pro in his first season. He’s made two All-Pro teams since then: a first-team nod in 2022 and second-team in 2023.
He’s entering his age-26 season this year and could command a record-breaking contract if left to the open market next offseason.