The 2024-25 NFL season has been an absolute trainwreck for the Dallas Cowboys. After an all-time playoff gaffe, the team was hoping for a bounce-back year, especially after re-signing their starting quarterback and No. 1 wide receiver. Unfortunately, a 5-8 start was probably not what they had in mind.
Moreover, injuries up and down the roster have put a real damper on Dallas’ plans. From Dak Prescott to Micah Parsons, the team hasn’t been whole throughout the year. Speaking of the latter, while most of Dallas’ key pieces are under contract, Parsons remains the one outlier. Rather than an extension that looked guaranteed, there is some doubt about what the future holds for Parsons in Dallas.
NFL Insider Breaks Down Micah Parsons’ Potential Future
It was the trusted voice of Ian Rapoport that first broke the news. While an in-his-prime defensive menace coming out of his rookie contract seems like a surefire bet for an extension, the Cowboys aren’t 100% sure when it comes to Parsons.
Due to his up-and-down play this season, alongside an already expensive salary cap, Dallas is skeptical about an extension. As Rapoport reports, Parson’s contract is among the things Stephen Jones will consider when thinking about next season.
Jones, the Cowboys’ CEO and director of player personnel, was clear in his desire to keep him around.
“Obviously we’re totally all in on Dak and CeeDee [Lamb], but after that, then you still shape things, including Micah. But Micah’s a great player. You don’t do well in this league, letting guys like Micah, usually, leave the house.”
What about Micah Parsons? Is he still in line for a big payday? Or could he be traded? https://t.co/hpZeudi2PT pic.twitter.com/YvqYLlf5fN
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 15, 2024
On the possibility of a trade down the line, it looks unlikely that Jones will sign off on a deal. When asked specifically about a scenario where Parsons leaves, his stance was crystal clear.
“We love Micah. I can’t imagine there’s a scenario where he’s not wearing a star on his element.”
How that shapes out the rest of Dallas’ roster remains to be seen. The results this season haven’t been spectacular after dishing out contracts to CeeDee Lamb and Prescott. Adding Parsons, regardless of the exceptional career he’s had so far, is only going to tighten up matters.
Breaking Down Parsons’ Time With Cowboys
Parsons made his way to America’s Team amid much fanfare. Coming off a spectacular collegiate career with the Penn State Nittany Lions, he went 12th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Immediately, he was cerebral in his impact. Finishing his rookie season with 13 sacks, Parsons was a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro. Additionally, he ran away with a unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year selection.
Year 2 was equally brilliant, with Parsons breaking his 13-sack mark from Year 1 en route to another first-team All-Pro appearance.
The 2023 season saw more of the same from Parsons. While he improved on his total sacks once again (14 this time), the consistency was terrifying and led to another Pro Bowl appearance.
This year, however, hasn’t been one that Parsons would want to remember. A career average of 0.81 sacks per game has been down to 0.5 this season.
Moreover, this was also the first year Parsons had to spend time on the sideline. He’s played in nine out of 13 games so far. As a result, the year has been comfortably the worst of his short career so far.