Parsons is heading into the fifth and final year of his rookie contract and is due to make around $24 million.
DALLAS — First Luka, now Micah? Don’t panic just yet.
Amid the feeding frenzy of a Super Bowl Sunday rumors and nuggets, the Cowboys were mentioned in one *very* juicy piece of information shared by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, who reported that the Cowboys have had “internal discussions” about whether to pay Parsons or trade him “for a king’s ransom.”
Parsons is heading into the fifth and final year of his rookie contract and is due to make around $24 million, according to Spotrac. Then he’ll be an unrestricted free agent who will, in all likelihood, become the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL.
The Cowboys, in case you forgot, have recently shelled out major contracts to quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.
So it’s not a complete shock that the Cowboys are at least considering the possibility of life without Micah. But it also feels like we’re a long way from a middle-of-the-night trade shocker like we saw with the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic. (Also, with all due respect to Parsons, Luka’s generational talent and the nature of a five-man lineup in the NBA made his departure more significant than probably any move the Cowboys could make).
Rapoport reported that if the Cowboys are “willing to listen” on a potential deal for Parsons, “they may get it,” talking about the massive haul in return for the superstar linebacker. But Rapoport had no other details on the potential talks the Cowboys might be having.
Longtime Cowboys beat writer Clarence Hill Jr., of DLLS Sports, was quick to shut down the Rapoport report.
“Micah Parsons is not getting traded,” Hill posted on X. “Stop the drama.”
Lamb also chimed in and was put out with the rumors, saying “Let’s just win ball games and that’s with 11! SMH.”
Aside from whether the Cowboys would even be willing to move the cornerstone of their defense — they haven’t been willing to make major moves, as it is — there’s also the question of if the return would actually be a “king’s ransom,” as Rapoport hinted.
Whoever would land Parsons would only have him under contract for a year before facing the same decision the Cowboys will have: How much do you pay him? And will he agree to sign with you?
The last similar move we saw on this front was when the Raiders traded star linebacker Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears in 2018 for two first-round picks, a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick. The Bears then inked Mack to a mega-deal when he arrived in Chicago.
The Cowboys would seemingly get something in that range — but maybe not — with the added benefit of freeing up a ton of salary cap space. On the other hand, they wouldn’t have Micah Parsons. And that’s a tough reality to imagine for a team trying to break a Super Bowl drought.
