The clock is ticking in Jerry World. The Eagles kick off their Super Bowl title defense against the Cowboys in just eight days in South Philadelphia and the Cowboys are still at an impasse with superstar pass-rusher Micah Parsons. Parsons, who has 52.5 sacks across his first four NFL seasons, wants a new contract that would make him the highest paid non-quarterback in league history. Dallas and Jerry Jones, whether it be due ego, incompetence or something else entirely, don’t want to pay the man.
Their loss is the Eagles’ gain. Parsons is in danger of missing Week 1 if this continues down that path and he remains disgruntled. With negotiations not going anywhere, Parsons has requested a trade this summer. While it would be hilarious if the Cowboys bungled drafting the second coming of Lawrence Taylor, is that really the best-case scenario for the Birds? Let’s run down the options.
- Parsons doesn’t play a snap this year and has a Le’Veon Bell-esque season-long holdout.
- Parsons and Dallas play nice and get a deal done.
- Parsons is traded elsewhere to a contender.
I’m of two mindsets here, imagining what would be the most embarrassing turn of events for Jones and the Cowboys compared to what would have the greatest impact on the Eagles’ hopes of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy again.
The best-case scenario football-wise is that Parsons sits out 2025 and we see what next offseason holds. Parsons can’t sack Jalen Hurts if he’s not in pads for any team out there!
While Parsons is a game-altering talent, him being on the Cowboys doesn’t scare me much when it comes to the Eagles’ championship hopes. Do you truly believe the Jones-run Cowboys are going to make a true Super Bowl run in the 21st century? Did you watch that Netflix documentary series? It’s not happening. It would be the best thing for the Cowboys if they can keep one of the sport’s premier players, but they’re not a real threat to win it all with or without Parsons!
If Parsons gets traded, I’m sure some Cowboys fans would tout it as the Herschel Walker trade 2.0 with the boatload of picks they’d receive in returns. That’s not an apt comparison though. Parsons is at the age and position where a team should build their roster around him. He’s not a 27-year-old running back on a 1-15 team. Dallas would look atrocious if it played out like that, so part of me wants that to happen, but it could bite the Eagles depending on where he lands.
If he goes to an AFC team? That works well enough. Perhaps the Eagles will face him in Santa Clara in February. If he goes to an NFC team like Los Angeles or Green Bay that the Birds both play in the regular season and could conceivably face again in the playoffs, that’s a little more iffy. An actual winning organization with a better roster in place could elevate Parsons to another level. Still, part of me would just love it if Dallas lost their best player this century because ol’ Jerry wanted to play games in the media.
Maybe I’m leaning too much into schadenfreude and should worry about the Eagles’ CB2 situation or their edge-rusher depth instead, but, hey, when the Birds are reigning champs and the Cowboys have been a disappointment for nearly my entire life, you can live a little.
