Cowboys Micah Parsons wants out of Big D, Browns Andrew Berry should go get him but would it be worth it?

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns have had several issues lately with their defensive unit. One of the group’s best tacklers, MLB Jordan Hicks, retired from the game without warning. Then right cornerback M.J. Emerson was lost for the season with a non-contact Achilles tear that required surgery.

This team lives and dies with its defense.

RELATED: BROWNS LINEBACKER ROOM IN TROUBLE?

With the loss of Hicks and the possibility of LB Devin Bush being suspended for the first six games, plus JOK not returning, suddenly

this group will have three new faces at linebacker in Week 1. But there are capable replacements.

Losing Emerson is a huge hit. Can Cam Mitchell or Myles Harden fill that void? Or will Berry need to go and get the best free agent cornerback available instead? Berry just signed CB Keenan Isaac (6’-3”, 190 pounds), who is now with his sixth team and has played in just seven NFL games over two seasons with zero stats.

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Now comes news from Dallas Cowboys camp that stud EDGE rusher Micah Parsons wants out of Dallas and has officially asked for a trade.

To this, we say to Andrew Berry, stop what you are doing, and make this deal!

Now realistically, other players from the Cowboys every season make the news about wanting a new contract, then hold out for a short spell, and ultimately get signed for bank. RB Ezekiel Elliott got a huge deal, QB Dak Prescott got his, so did OG Zack Martin, and last year it was WR CeeDee Lamb. All wanted more money because how can a player live on 20-something million a year? And besides, other players at their position got new huge deals, so where are theirs?

But this trade request from Parsons seems different. It appears honest, and he just may not play for the Cowboys any longer. He feels disrespected, and perhaps no amount of cash can change that attitude.

Parsons (6’-3”, 245 pounds) is under contract with Dallas. His rookie deal was signed in 2021 for $17 million with a four-year plan after being the 12^th player taken in Round 1. The Cowboys exercised the fifth-year option, which is set to pay him $24 million this season. He is obligated to fulfill it.

For now, it appears to be a negotiation tactic. Or is it? Parsons saw what his other teammates did, in that they waited it out with Cowboys GM Jerry Jones, and then ended up with what they wanted in the first place.

This one....just feels different. Being dissed can be a lethal tactic.

Parsons handed his statement to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones on Friday. It states:

“Unfortunately, I no longer want to be here. I no longer want to be held to close door negotiations without my agent present. I no longer want shots taken at me for getting injured while laying it on the line for the organization, our fans, and my teammates… I have made a tough decision; I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys.”

Okay, we admit. This is a lot like Myles Garrett asking for a trade.

Except Garrett cited the fact that the Browns weren’t getting any closer to the Super Bowl than those Hue Jackson rosters, and he would like for just one season to see what getting close to a ring looks like. And in the end, Garrett didn’t go anywhere because Berry paid him more money than his children’s children could spend. He can buy his own island and purchase his own ring.

Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

The Cowboys are famous for their star players wanting new deals, with others around the league at their positions getting huge contracts. But Jones has a tendency to wait it out, which alienates both the player, his agent, plus the fanbase. And in the end, it bites him in the ass, and he ends up paying the funds anyway with an extension he said he wasn’t going to give.

Parsons just could be the one who finally gets away from Big D. Right now, it’s not the team that decides if he plays this year or not; it’s Parsons.

Jones just might realize that if Parsons does not suit up this year, he will become a free agent, and the Cowboys will get zilch in return for him. Right this moment, not only does he have trade value, but he has a ton of trade value.

The Dallas Cowboys have no intention of trading Micah Parsons, per sources.

Still, teams around the league are planning to reach out to check on his availability today.

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 1, 2025

The fact that Dallas has stated they are not parting ways with Parsons doesn’t mean that other teams won’t try to wrestle him away. On the other hand, Parsons will become a free agent after this year. A trade now could be smarter than letting him walk away from the team in free agency.

He is just 26 years old, which is the prime of any male athlete’s life. Parsons has great size, his 40 time at the Combine was 4.39, and his career stats are comparable to players like Garrett, T.J. Watt, or Trey Hendrickson.

63 games played with 63 starts, 256 total tackles, 63 tackles for loss, 24 missed tackles, 52.5 sacks, 112 QB hits, 9 batted passes, 177 pressures, 59 knockdowns, 61 hurries, 1 touchdown, and four fumble recoveries.

You need to be opposite Myles. There has never or would never be a duo nastier than that.

— D”Lit Exchange” Jackson (@DonaldJack123) August 2, 2025

Think about it: Garrett on one side, with Parsons on the other. From this point on, the letter “E” is stuck on the keyboard because of all the saliva that drooled out.

What could DC Jim Schwartz do with Garrett and Parsons on the outside corners, with a continual rotation of Shelby Harris, Ralph Holley, Maliek Collins, and the rookie Mason Graham manning the middle of this defensive line?

The term is “getting the vapors.” (Editor’s note: Had to look this one up.)

How did the Cowboys get here?

Parsons was drafted in the first round after a stellar career at Penn State. Dallas made a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to move up and nab him.

In March, he had an informal conversation about leadership with Jones, which turned into a discussion about Parsons’ new contract. Parsons told Jones what he wanted as far as a new deal, which would keep him in-house, and he would not have to worry about getting injured this year without any long-term deal in place.

The two men ended the meeting.

Jones, however, has stated that the meeting ended with a new contract hammered out. Parsons is stating that it was just casual, and besides, he would never discuss anything formal without his agent present or, in fact, leading the negotiations.

As noted on ESPN:

“In March, I met with Mr. Jones to talk about leadership. Somehow the conversation turned into him talking contract with me. Yes, I engaged in a back-and-forth in regards to what I wanted from my contract, but at no point did I believe this was supposed to be a formal negotiation. And I informed Mr. Jones afterward, my agent would reach out, thinking this would get things done.

But when my agent reached out and spoke to (ESPN’s) Adam (Schefter), he was told the deal was pretty much already done. My agent, of course, told him that wasn’t the case and also reached out to Stephen Jones. Again, the team decided to go silent.”

This left Parsons discouraged.

At the beginning of this year’s training camp, Jones led an opening press conference in which he made a dismissive remark that even if the Cowboys signed Parsons, it would not guarantee his availability because he “could get hit by a car.”

Say what?

Then a reporter stated that the fans were chanting “Pay Micah!” at practices. Jones said that the tone from the fans was a bit “faint” from what the chant was from last year’s version from when Lamb was wanting his new deal.

Jerry Jones is easily one of the worst owners of all time and doesn’t get nearly the blame he deserves

— Marc Colcer (@marccolcer) August 1, 2025

Come again? Are the fans less upset than last year’s drama? The owner really insinuated that?

It seems every year, another Cowboys player wants a new contract. Remember back in the 1990s when RB Emmitt Smith held out the first two games and Dallas began the season 0-2? So, players holding out is nothing new. Nor have the same guys been requesting a trade is new.

Parsons has been a Top-10 pass rusher since he came to the Cowboys. He and Reggie White are the only players in NFL history to have at least 12 sacks in each of their first four seasons. Parsons’ sack numbers: 13, 13.5, 14, and 12. His pressures by year: 47, 41, 43, and 46. He was a finalist for “Defensive Player of the Year” in each of his first three seasons. That is like Jim Brown figures.

Thank you Dallas ! I pic.twitter.com/EUnEj9uRUt

— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 1, 2025

The Cowboys have stated “no comment” on Parsons’ trade request. Dallas can hold his rights through 2028 with the use of the franchise tag; however, the last year of the tag would cost them the quarterback tag figure.

When Parsons first asked the Cowboys to extend him, it was before other players got huge deals such as Garrett, Hendrickson, and Watt. This means now, the EDGE rusher market has been set by others who have gotten bank, and the price is even bigger.

What would it take to bring in Parsons?

A lot.

Back in 2018, DE Khalil Mack held out all of preseason, going into his fifth season, which the Oakland Raiders had exercised his fifth-year option. In his last three seasons, he had 15, 11, and 10.5 sacks. The Raiders traded him to the Chicago Bears for two first-round draft picks, plus a third and sixth. Along with Mack, the Bears also received a second and a conditional fifth-round pick.

The Browns have two first-round draft picks in 2026, their own and the Jacksonville Jaguars. That is where this trade scenario would start.

And if Cleveland has another down year, plus it is expected for the Jaguars to be one of the league’s worst clubs based on last year’s performance, both of these picks will be in the Top-10. Which means they are premium selections. That’s “Premium” with a capital “P.”

Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

The Cowboys just lost CB Caelen Carson, who suffered a hyperextended knee over the weekend that will keep him out 4-6 weeks. They have a cornerback need.

If Cleveland offered the two first-round picks, plus CB Greg Newsome, that would certainly seal the deal. There may be some late-round picks shuttled back and forth between the two teams, but the meat and potatoes are there for a good transaction.

Yes, that would leave the Browns in a pickle as far as cornerback goes with Emerson out for the year.

We've placed DT Mike Hall Jr. and QB Deshaun Watson on Active/Physically Unable to Perform, WR David Bell on Active/Non-Football Injury and waived WR Jaelen Gill

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) July 22, 2025

But there are quite a few good veteran corners left unsigned that could fill a role, such as Stephone Gilmore and Rasul Douglas. Players that are in-house that could plug this position are Chigozie Anusiem, Cam Mitchell, Myles Harden, Nik Needham, and Dom Jones.

Cleveland currently has approximately $19 million in salary cap space. The Browns are expected to roll over a significant portion of this cap space into the 2026 season to help manage the financial impact of Deshaun Watson’s deal.

Berry is quite good at restructuring other players’ contracts to help fill a need. If Parsons were to come to Cleveland, his new contract would already have been agreed upon. It is estimated that a deal in the neighborhood of $35 million a year would become a reality with a major portion of that guaranteed and at least a three or four-year timeframe.

This could be a doable trade.

“Jerry Jones. Browns GM Andrew Berry on Line 1.”

More from dawgsbynature.com:

• ESPN drops some news about the Browns’ quarterback situation
• NFL picks and predictions for Week 2
• Daily Dawg Chow: Browns news (9/16/16)
• Browns’ Color Rush uniforms unveiled, but Cleveland won’t get to wear them in 2016
• Film Study: Browns’ only TD drive vs. Eagles
• Film Study: Browns’ 1st three offensive series vs. Eagles - All 3-and-outs, with a botched fake
• Daily Dawg Chow: Browns news (9/15/16)