The Dallas Cowboys have released their first unofficial depth chart of the 2025 season, and defensive end Micah Parsons is listed as a starter despite his recent trade request and lagging contract negotiations.
But despite that, owner Jerry Jones isn't sure that Parsons will actually be out on the field with the Cowboys for their season-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1.
"No, absolutely not," Jones said Tuesday afternoon when asked if he was confident about Parsons' status for that game, via The Athletic's Jon Machota. "A big part of that is his decision. How would I know that? I’m just saying. But I’m urgent.”
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Parsons has yet to fully participate in a training camp practice in the two weeks since the team reported to Oxnard, California. He released a lengthy statement on social media this past Friday, requesting a trade from the Cowboys, who drafted him No. 12 overall in the 2021 draft. Jones said that neither he nor his people have actually spoken to Parsons or his agent since the request was made on Friday.
That said, Parsons continued to show up at Cowboys practice Saturday and Monday — the team was off on Sunday — notably wearing his No. 11 jersey Monday while watching his teammates and conversing with defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus as well as vice president of player personnel Will McClay.
While Parsons wrote, "I no longer want to be here," in a trade-request statement he captioned, "Thank you Dallas," on social media, the Cowboys aren't looking to trade their premier edge rusher.
Though Jones was far from convincing, first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer is planning to have the four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro available come Sept. 4.
“We're still planning on moving Micah around and putting him in all the spots that we see him and using our fronts the way we want to see it,” Schottenheimer said. “We go about our business every day. We live in the moment. We focus in the moment. And again, like I said, I talked to you guys the other day, not going to get a lot into it.
“But I expect Micah to be here.”
Parsons is in the fifth-year option of his rookie deal with the Cowboys. He won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021, the first of his four seasons with 12-plus sacks since entering the league.
The Penn State product has piled up 52.5 sacks, 256 total tackles, 112 quarterback hits and nine forced fumbles in 63 regular-season games.
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