Jerry Jones talked for a while on Saturday, but had one overall message for Dallas Cowboys fans in the wake of Micah Parsons' trade request: Don't panic.
The Cowboys owner told reporters he isn't considering granting Parsons' request and insisted that this was still part of the negotiations for the All-Pro pass-rusher's next contract in Dallas. From The Athletic's Jon Machota:
“I wouldn’t be standing here with you if I didn’t think we potentially had a great future with Micah (Parsons). We’re in good shape. This is negotiation. But make no mistake about it, life has to go on if something happens to me or anybody else. Life does go on.”
Jones also reportedly said Parsons' contract offer from March is off the table — "Micah took it off" — and that "relationship is what it is ... I like Micah" when asked if the relationship was salvageable.
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And as for his message to a currently upset Cowboys fanbase, via Nick Harris of the Star-Telegram:
“I would say to our fans, don’t lose any sleep over this.”
Meanwhile, some of those Cowboys fans were letting Jones know what they thought about the situation:
As Jones often likes to note, he's been in this kind of situation before and usually comes out of with a newly extended player, though sometimes at a price a little higher than expected.
In a lengthy statement announcing his trade request, Parsons claimed Jones and the Cowboys have been mostly radio silent in response to multiple attempts by his camp to engage them on contract negotiations. Jones and Parsons met in March to discuss their future, but no deal resulted and the two sides are now reported to be wide apart on terms of a possible deal.
Parsons has not held out from Cowboys workouts or training camps, though he has missed drills recently due to a back injury. Jones said "I wish the back would get better" in response to the injury, with tongue possibly in cheek.
How expensive will Micah Parsons get for the Cowboys?
Parsons' first contract after his rookie deal has loomed for years, with the price only going higher as his peers land progressively larger extensions. Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby got a three-year, $106.5 million deal in March, with a $35.5 million average annual value that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns broke that record days later with a four-year, $160 million deal ($40 million per year). And then Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt took the record for himself with a three-year, $123 million extension ($41 million per year).
At 26 years old, Parsons is younger than all three of those players and has been one of the best defensive players in the NFL since his first game with the Cowboys. Odds are high he's looking to set his own record, but even if he somehow doesn't, it's not going to be cheap for Jones.
Parsons is playing this season on the $24 million fifth-year option of his rookie contract and is technically a pending unrestricted free agent, though it can be assumed the Cowboys will hit him with the franchise tag as many times as needed to keep him in Dallas.
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