LIVE: Cowboys Break Podcast | 8-05-25 | Dallas Cowboys 2025

LIVE: Cowboys Break Podcast | 8-05-25 | Dallas Cowboys 2025

Go boys. Go Cowboys. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Go Cowboys. Go Cowboys. Heat. Heat. Go cowboys. Go Cowboys. Heat. Heat. Go kill boys. Go Cowboys. Heat. Heat. Goowboy. The following is a production of DallasCowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. How about you? Let’s go, buddy. Are you ready for a break? Yes. Are you ready for a break? Absolutely. Ready for a break? Yeah. And um so much for that. It’s time for the break on dallascowboys.com. We were on the break with Ambar Garcia, Brian Bris, Vach Lombardi, and Derek Eagleton. It is Tuesday, August 5th, 2025, season 21, episode number 20. Welcome to the latest edition of the Rake Live from Oxnard, California. Um, I don’t even know what day it is at this point into camp. I know we’re more than halfway through. Um, I know that this is next to the last episode that we will do here live from camp on the break. Uh we got a show again on Thursday and then uh I know most of my crew, which my normal crew isn’t even here today, uh but most of them will be back in Dallas. They will have shows back in Dallas on Monday and Wednesday of next week. So uh this is our next to last show we’ll do out here in Oxnard. And I get to be joined by two people I really respect that are doing an awesome job covering this team throughout training camp. We’ve got Tommy Yarsh and we’ve got Nick Harris. Uh welcome to the show, guys. How you doing, sir? Appreciate it. Appreciate it. So it’s good to be back in the old stomping grounds, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Nick’s been doing other things, but he always stays close to us. So, we figured we’d pull him in since uh Brian’s out and uh since Vot is out and Amber obviously out today not feeling great. Uh but that being said, where I want to start, uh we haven’t you obviously hadn’t been on the air with us uh throughout camp, but our show hasn’t actually happened since uh everything started with the whole Micah requesting a trade. And so we’re going to spend a little time talking about Micah and more talking about it from the standpoint of a a bigger picture look. Uh and I want to talk to you guys about your your level of concern with regards to a lot of different things that are floating around this. I want to start first though with obviously Micah makes the trade request. Uh Jerry then talks to the media. I think that was on Saturday uh following practice and uh a couple quotes that he had that stood out to me. The first one was he said uh this is a negotiation. Does it blow me up? somebody asked let let uh look trade me that’s just not a flare sign for me at all in any way and then he concluded don’t lose any sleep over it that’s one thing I would say for our fans don’t lose any sleep what were your thoughts on Jerry’s response uh and you guys were both there when he talked to the media and it actually went on for quite a quite a while uh what were your thoughts on the different things he had to say about the the whole request yeah mostly calculated for sure and rightfully so he he sees us as being in the middle of a negotiation Now, I I think the key point from Jerry’s rhetoric on Saturday was that he sees this as closer to the finish line than I think Michael Parsons does. He looks back at that conversation that they had back in March that both sides have said has happened. And I think he sees a finish line in sight, whereas Micah Parsons doesn’t see a starting line in in sight. So, I I think there’s two different views of what exactly happened back in March. And uh you know, Michael Parsons wants to get the agent involved, rightfully so. I mean, it is the guy that he has hired at the end of the day. Uh, but, you know, Jerry Jones, I think, is trying to to maneuver it in a way where, you know, he sees it as closer to the finish line than than Michael Parsons does. He wants to go ahead and push across and get it done. So, you you saw the maneuvering and you saw the calculated uh speak from Jerry Jones on Saturday. And, uh, you know, talking about, hey, to the fans, don’t lose any sleep over this. I think that’s him in his mind understanding like hey eventually we are going to pay this guy but it it has to come at the the time that he wants and and most likely at the price point that he wants as well and at the term points that he wants too right I think that’s an important part to consider in all this but look I don’t think there is a high level of concern amongst Jerry Jones amongst the Cowboys organization I think this is something that eventually will get done but I think eventually fellas what has to happen is one side has got to give up right like one side’s got to let up here because Jerry Jones views this as we had a deal in March. Why should I change our terms? Why should I change our terms? Michael Parson sees it as, okay, we talked about it. I didn’t think that this was a negotiation, so now I’m going to get my agent involved. And you know, I said this earlier today on the fan, Jerry Jones has done plenty of negotiations. Michael Parsons uh has negotiated in the I guess they started negotiation recently, but I’m this what I mean to say is the Cowboys have negotiated plenty of deals. They know that agents get involved. It’s not a new thing with them. They’ve negotiated with David Mulligetta before and they respect David Mulligetta. So, I don’t think it’s the most shocking thing in the world for Michael Parsons to ask for the agent to get involved. I think because it is such a high price tag that’s going to be paid, Jerry Jones is trying to just get this done and get this over with because with Mulligetta, he does a really good job of getting his clients every penny that they can get, especially with their guaranteed money. So, that might be why there’s some hesitancy to get these conversations going. And so, but eventually somebody’s got to give in first. My question is if they both had a resemblance of agreement on terms back in March, right? And uh Michael was like, “Hey, just reach out to my agent so we can get across the finish line. Why not do it?” You know, and that that’s that’s my question I’ve had throughout this whole instance. And it’s like, you know, that money that the agent takes that doesn’t come out of Jerry’s pocket. That comes out of Micah’s pocket. So, it’s, you know, what what exactly is the hold up there and wanting to negotiate with the agent? Is it, you know, when he does have that conversation with David, does he expect to have, you know, a little bit different agreement on terms, different agreement on uh money, guarantees, things of that nature? I mean, sure, there’s probably little, you know, hitches here and there, but, you know, if the player and the team agreed on most of these parameters, there’s not a whole lot that the agent can really sway that will be detrimental towards, you know, salary cap involvement or uh anything in in future tense. I mean, maybe some voidyear type situations, but, you know, at the end of the day, that would help the team. So, I don’t know. the the question I have is why didn’t he call the agent when when they were so close to the Well, that’s the part I’m a little confused on because the the way I understand and this is the interesting part here is you got kind of two different stories. You got what Jerry’s saying and then you got what Mike is saying. The parts that match up are they had a conversation in March. Um Jerry says that they that they did have an agreement or it was close. They had a pretty much they agreed on the terms of the deal. Um, and there was an offer on the table at that point. Micah does say his agent mentioned, “Hey, maybe we ought to wait. Maybe the timing is not right for us to do a deal. Maybe we should wait for these other things to happen.” That’s where the story kind of diverges because Micah says he told his folks, “Hey, no, I just want to go and get the deal done.” Jerry says they took the deal off the table. Yeah. So that’s where I’m I’m a little confused on what exactly happened at the point when there was a deal on the table because I think both have acknowledged that at some point there was some basic ramifications out there. This is what we think a deal is going to be. It just seems like at some point it all fizzled away and who I don’t know why that that happened. I think it it it might be because Sorry, I’m going to cut you off. It it might be just because David Mulligetta looks at the deal that they came to and says, “Hey, we can get you more than this.” Like, “Hey, we can get you more money. You shouldn’t take this deal.” I think that’s what it is. And I think that that’s the holdup is, you know, when Michael Parsons and Jerry Jones came to whatever agreement they were, Michael Parsons goes back to David Mulligan and he’s like, “Hold on, we can wait here.” And they’d made it clear that they were waiting for some of the other pass rushers who are up this cycle to get paid like TJ Watt, Miles Garrett. So now that 41 million a year is the number set by TJ Watt, who most recently signed his deal. Go. Let me ask you this question though. If that’s the case, that doesn’t match up with what Micah has said. Because Micah said in this in this well-crafted statement, he said, “Hey, at the point when I was told that by my agent, I was like, “No, I just want to go and get the deal done.” So, if he was just like, “Let’s just go ahead and get the deal done and not wait for those other things.” Then why if that’s the case, why were they back in a situation where they pushed the where they they rescended the deal? I will say one thing about the Micah statement. There are already some conflicting comments that he made in that statement based on comments that he’s made in the past. One being uh that he him and David Moligetta tried to negotiate last off season. If you go back to some of the comments that he made last offseason though, uh he said something in September where he was like, “Yeah, you know, I’m going to put out a really good year. I’m comfortable with doing that.” And then that very same day, Steven Jones went on the fan and said, “Micah made a conscientious decision to wait to negotiate until after the year.” Micah never contended that. And yet in that statement he said, “Look, we’ve been trying to get a deal done since last offseason.” So, you know, is there some comments being made by both sides that could benefit them in this current uh scenario? Negotiation. I get it. It is negotiation. And that’s where this one specifically gets a little bit weird for us and how we cover it because, you know, all we can try to do is stick to the facts, but the facts are really hard to come by in this case because you have one side saying one thing, the other side saying another thing, and there’s very few corroborated comments. The only few corroborated comments that you can find are they had a meeting in March, an offer was talked about, parameters were mostly agreed upon, but there was no offer sheet, there was nothing that was put in stone, and they kind of let it sit for a little while, and now here we are, and and uh the agent has not been reached out to. So, you know, those are corroborated statements that we can take from both sides, but again, they’re they’re hard to come by in this case. And this is one of those situations, too, where I don’t know that I think that anybody is necessarily wrong. Like, this is how negotiations go. And that’s the point I think Jerry was trying to make is I’ve been through a lot of these. Yeah. Especially when you’re talking about really big money. There’s going to be a negotiating period where it’s going to get sometimes a little bit uncomfortable because both sides are jockeying for position trying to create leverage for themselves. That’s what any negotiation is. You want to get as much leverage as possible. And the most leverage you can and then once you have the the leverage you think you’re going to be able to get then that drives you to be able to make a deal that’s comparable for both people because they know kind of where the leverage points are, right? Yeah. And you did it with Tommy when he came to you for $32 million per year after his rookie season. I mean, we were y’all understand both sides of the coin. I’ve done this before. I’ve done this. I did it with you. I’m trying to get up to 50. This is This is where I’m just like I I don’t think that this is as big a deal as everyone thinks it is, or at least how it’s being portrayed. Uh we were just we were in a similar situation last year, guys. You know, we’ve been in similar situations over the years. I’ve seen many situations. You can go back to even before I was with the Cowboys back in the day in 90s uh with Emtt Smith like this is this happens and right now the Cowboys aren’t the only team dealing with it in the NFL. There are other teams who also have star players who are saying either give me the deal I want or trade me and and their organizations are in a similar boat where they’re like, “Yeah, we’re not looking to necessarily trade you. We’ll figure this out.” And I I just think that’s a part of the negotiation. You do what you have to do. Miles Garrett did it earlier this offseason. He got the deal he wanted and now he loves Cleveland and he’s back. Right. So, yeah, I just think it’s a lot more than maybe what everybody thinks it might be. Yeah. And I I think it’s uh I think it’s a product of it being such a public request from from Micah. And you know, the screenshot of the notes app is never a good thing. You never want your player posting a screenshot of the notes app. Uh that that goes all the way back to high school players, too. That’s a that’s that’s a key rule here. But, um I I I think it’s it’s a lot more public, but if you think back to like the Zeke dispute, I think that was a little bit more messier behind the scenes and that got done obviously, whereas I I think you remember that. Exactly. Exactly. And Jerry made t-shirts out of the t-shirt and they sold shirts, man. So I it just it’s part of it. It’s it’s fascinating. I I think this one is just I I think Jerry may have met his match here when it comes to being business savvy cuz the player is business savvy and he has the best agent in football. And so, you know, there’s going to be there’s going to be positioning and maneuvering here by both sides. Well, the interesting part here, too, is I don’t know that the Cowboys have had a star player with as much media savviness as as Micah. I mean, Micah has his own podcast. as he’s been doing the media thing since he got into the NFL. Uh I think that’s where it it’s a little bit different for me as an observer. It feels a little different because he’s using the media in a way that I don’t think most players have typically uh use and certainly not star players have used the media. I think back to Dion, but again the platform was so much different in those days. But I I mean if we’re talking like poundforpound and era for era, I mean you could you could look at Dion, but yeah, if you take into context the Bleacher Report stuff that he does and um you know, being a president of Bleacher Report’s video team, I mean there’s there’s a lot more that that Micah has here that he can get out to the public. Yeah. All right, we’re going to take a break. When we come back, I actually want to take this a little deeper. I want to go up from a from a broader perspective and get your level of concern as to how this whole thing may be affecting other parameters or other people, other groups outside of just Micah and Jerry. We’ll talk about that when we come back. This is DallasCowboys.com radio. Todd thought it would be secure to jog in the cheetah savannah. Todd believed the big cat repellent he bought online was reliable. And now Todd is trying to be faster than this cheetah that can run 80 mph. 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Um this question and I’m I have a series of questions here, a few of them that are more from the standpoint I want to get your your level of concern from 1 to 10. 10 being the most, one being not concerned at all. Um, the first one, how concerned are you that Michael will no longer be a part of this team uh going into this season, next season, that his long-term future with the Cowboys will be jeopardized by this contract negotiation? One, I think he’s going to be a cowboy. I I have no concern about that. Uh, I give it a three. Um, it’s still pretty low, but, you know, leaving some room for foolery, if you will, because there’s been a lot of it in this negotiation. And I, you know, Michael Parsons and his side, they are hurt by certain comments that have been made and and by the negotiations. I wonder I do they are they are it’s not a bluff. Now, is it a bluff to get the negotiation started? For sure, but I don’t think it’s a bluff necessarily that they feel a type of way. Um, now when you say when you say his his group, is it Micah that you think feels that way or do you think it’s his representative? I mean, it starts with Micah, but I mean it’s his group as as a whole. Uh, but I I I agree that this gets done. I’m mostly with Tommy here. I just put it a couple points higher just because I I think, you know, even when this deal gets done, a conversation is going to have to be had. Do how do you how do you think that reconciles itself? Is it is it as simple as he gets the money and all of a sudden he his feelings feel a lot better. Like that that has a way of kind of being the the ointment for your feelings. $40 million makes conversations a lot more fun. Absolutely. I I think I think about CD Lamb’s relationship with ownership at the moment and we kind of got a glimpse of that last week when he was talking about the Michael Parsons situation and you could tell that CD definitely has some leftover feelings from how his negotiation went last offseason but like it doesn’t matter for him right now. I mean it’ll matter in four years when he has to renegotiate but I Jerry Jones is not going to get in his way for four years. So I do you have to have a positive relationship with ownership to play for a team? I don’t think necessarily. though. Uh, but given Michael Parsons and Jerry Jones relationship is a little bit more um, you know, developed than his ever was with CD Lamb talking about ownership, then maybe they have a conversation at the end of all this. But I don’t think you necessarily have to have a great relationship with ownership to play for a team. That’s just me though. Yeah, I’m I’m with you. But, you know, the interesting part about that is it’s very very rare that you hear a former Cowboys player that doesn’t love Jerry. Yeah. Like it’s that’s always been the interesting thing to me about this is they get into these really tough negotiations with their players. I mean like they go all in negotiating, but for some reason it doesn’t end up being a long-term I can’t stand that guy, you know, cuz it could become that. As you said, if there are feelings that are hurt, it certainly could become that. But you just you just don’t hear that. And typically, you wouldn’t expect to hear it while a player is here because obviously he’s still here. that you would think after they retire, after they move on to another team, you would hear those things. And it’s just very, very rare you hear that. I think the Cowboys organization as a whole, and it starts with the Jones family has a really good reputation of taking care of their guys and being there for their guys and having each other’s backs, and you know, you look at some of the deals that they’ve negotiated here recently, CD and Dak and Trayvon Diggs. I mean, when you’re getting life-changing money like that, and sometimes when Jerry Jones pays a little bit more than what’s already at the top of the market, then, you know, that’s something you appreciate. And like I said, $40 plus million dollars makes anybody happy, right? Those conversations get a lot easier and it’s a lot easier to to build back up into positive spirits and to build back up into a positive relationship. So, uh, you know, you give them credit for that. Look, they take care of their guys and Jerry Jones said it the other day. You know, he’s not afraid to make large financial commitments and reward his players for performing well. And so, I think, you know, guys from the past and the present appreciate that. And not to say that there’s other ways you can handle it. I think that there are a lot of situations where they can handle these negotiations differently, but at the end of the day, getting their deals done and having their best interest in mind is something that I think the Cowboys do for the most part pretty well. All right, let’s move on. On a scale of 1 to 10, how concerned are you about how this affects other players in the locker room? Uh, I give that about a two. Uh I I think there’s a lot of support in that locker room where I know there’s a lot of support for in that locker room for Micah Parsons. And uh you know, if there was not support for the players, then I might have a little bit more concern. Um now granted, I Micah has taken a step forward in leadership, but I I don’t think it’s necessarily been received 100% by the locker room. I’m not saying that necessarily, but I I think there are enough guys in his corner in that locker room that want to see him come out on top in this situation that I I don’t see it affecting the team at the end of the day. And I think I think Brian Sean Hmer’s done a really good job of managing this first crisis that he’s had to deal with. It’s a lot of adversity to battle in your first training camp. And I I think the the culture emphasis that he really put on in the offseason, you’re starting to see the the the benefits of that now here in this situation. Yeah, I’d go with two as well. You know, you look at the other day when all this was coming out and guys were changing their profile pictures on social media to pictures of Micah Parsons. They’ve got his back. And you know, leadership is different with every player. I don’t think Mike is necessarily going to be a rahrah leader all the time. I think that his he’s got a unique sense of leadership and he might not be the best leader on the defense, but he’s certainly one of, if not the best player. And I think when you kind of lead by example like he’s done in the past, then naturally guys are going to gravitate towards you and other guys are going to get opportunities because Michael Parsons is opening things up for them. So ultimately the locker room presence and how like Nick said how much Brian Shanheimer has emphasized culture and togetherness and bonding is this is where you see it pay off and now we need to the question is does it pay off on the field when things are tough when guys are are upset and guys are frustrated does that is that when can they stay together when those things happen that’s the next big question so then you you guys both both mentioned Shotty my question was going to be on a scale of 1 to 10 how much do you think this affects Shotti and and his his culture that he’s trying to create. I’ll I’ll pivot that question a little bit. Do you think the situation has actually helped or hurt the culture that he’s trying to build? That’s a good one. Um h I think uh I I think there’s cases to be made for both sides. Can I can I play that for a second? I think there is cases to be made for both sides. I’ll say on the help side because, you know, you see some guys rallying around Michael Parsons and you know, that’s definitely the culture he’s trying to create. But I think on the flip side, it’s also creating some individualism in a sense of Michael Parsons because when he comes out to practice, you know, everyone’s looking at him, everyone’s seeing him, and everyone’s seeing him not participate. So, it kind of tells all the other 90 guys in the locker room like, “Hey, this is accepted. It’s okay.” Now, granted, it’s Michael Parsons. It’s a completely different situation. If Denzel Dax rolled out there with his hoodie on and no jersey, give me 50 million. Yeah, he might be back at University of Illinois next week. So, I mean, it’s it’s with all due respect with all due respect to Denzel Jackson, he’s had a great camp, but I I think with uh I think with with that I mean it it definitely singles out guys and I don’t think that’s necessarily what Shanheimer’s trying to build. Well, yeah, but I you know to that point I think it’s not this isn’t a situation unique to the Cowboys, right? I think there’s a star players around the league with every team that can kind of do those things. I’m not saying that’s that negates your point, but at the same time, you know, these I think deep down these guys know the business side of things, right? and they and there’s going to be more support for him in that sense and I think there has been positive support for Michael Parsons from this locker room in that sense. Uh I I’m with Nick that you kind it’s it’s a little bit of both. I lean more towards it’s a positive thing just because of how we’ve seen players rally around him and you know the other day when Jerry Jones is is talking to the media and he Michael Parsons and Trayvon Diggs run to the crowd and fire him up as they’re chanting we want Micah or pay Micah or whatever it was that they were saying. You know that’s that’s signs of a good thing. that signs of a good brotherhood and Brian Shanheimimer seems to love it and I know that’s what he’s all about and he’s all about his guys showing up for one another and being there for one another because he tries to be there for them. So, you know, I think it’s a it’s in more ways than none a good thing for this locker room, but obviously it would be even better if this got done. All right, so now I’m going to put you guys in a position of trying to advise Micah and his group and also advise Jerry. Let’s start with Micah. if you could give him, okay, how you think this has to play out going forward, what would you say is the best case scenario for him and how he should handle everything moving uh in the direction of of trying to ultimately get a deal? Y’all are going to hate this one, I feel like, but if it gets to week one and there’s no deal, start holding out from games. I I think that’s that’s probably the the best scenario because I think if he was holding out from training camp, you’d probably see a little bit more urgency. you wouldn’t see as much dramatics, I think, that have that have happened so far here in camp because he’s been here. You you think back to to last year, you had both sides of the coin. You had CD holding out and you had Dak that was here, who got the deal done first? Who had the less dramatics at the end of the day? Uh well, I think there was a case to be made that both sides had some dramatics. But I I I think my my advice to Micah’s side would be if if there’s not a deal by week one, hold out from some games. Let me real quick, can I challenge you for a second? Absolutely. Now, if you hold out, there is potentially like I what I what I read the other day, the Cowboys obviously have a deal in place with him right now. So, there is a deal. Um uh and I’m not talking about a new deal. I’m talking about his current deal. Uh in addition to that, the Cowboys could feasibly put a franchise tag on him next year and feasibly put a franchise tag on him the year after that. I think the total of that from what I read was roughly somewhere around $75 million. So, if you’re saying you’re going to miss games, are you comfortable with the idea that you might not play for as much as three years and you will basically allow $75 million to just go down the drain Yeah. for it for a long-term deal. Yeah. And and that’s where you start to factor in, okay, does the longevity of a of a hold out really make sense? But I think whenever you start stacking games and let’s say it’s three games and the defense, you know, they’re not getting to the quarterback and you see the impact that Micah Parson’s not being there has had, then I think that increases urgency on both sides. Now, you know, you’re you’re playing a dangerous game there. Don’t get me wrong, you’re playing a dangerous game. But how much more dangerous would it be if you go out there in week one, you don’t have a deal, and you tear your ACL on the first drive? That’s that’s where I feel like 75 million and and gosh, 200 is what we’re talking about. Does that does that change as much? cuz I I think I think we always talk about it like that. I think there have been guys happened to Dak Prescott like we saw the gruesome injury he had against the Giants and still ended up getting paid. I I think in today’s world, there used to be a time back in when I was growing up back in the 80s, you hear ACL and you’re like career over. Yeah. Like that’s not the world we necessarily live in anymore. And especially for a top-notch player like Micah, if Micah were to get hurt, and I’m not pushing that on him at all, but if he were to get hurt, my suspicion is he’s still going to get paid by the Cowboys or by somebody cuz he was just too great a talent for him not to get paid. If a Deshawn Watson can have to sit out of football for X amount of years because of whatever was going on and then make become, I think at the time the highest paid quarterback in the NFL. To be fair, that’s in the Swindle Hall of Fame. Guaranteed, right? And guaranteed money. But I’m saying all you need is one team out of 32, right? Um, so I guess I guess what the whole point I’m making is I don’t know that injuries necessarily in my book if you’re a top player to still be able to get top-notch money. I think there might be some injury PTSD here though specifically cuz you talk about when they did the deal for Steel after he got injured. They did the deal for Trayvon Diggs and then he’s been injured these last couple years. You go back to the opening press conference and there was a little bit of remorse that Jerry uh threw out there as far as paying those two guys. So, you know, coming off an injury, I would be shocked if Michael Parsons gets as much money as he could have if he was not injured at the end of the day. Right. And that’s why if you’re Michael Parson’s side, you’re doing everything you can to get this deal done now and everything you can to get this deal done before the season. So, I’m with Nick. If if it gets to dire straits, then you start missing out on games and it’s going to those those pay missing those paychecks are going to hurt. And clearly and clearly by Michael Parson’s being here, you can tell that money is important to him in some facet. I know that missing I think what is it $50,000 a day is not the same as missing a game check every week. But nonetheless, if if money is that important, then you got to get something done now. And what? Go ahead. No, you you got to get something done now. I I think when you start factoring in the endorsements and the money that he makes off the field, I don’t think that hit will be as significant as it would be to let’s say CD Lamb if he were to hold out from games last year, he’s going to be all right regardless, but but don’t get me wrong, still a game check. I understand that, right? And and that and that is building on more money than he’s made the last four years in his rookie deal. So for him, that’s much different. Now for us, I mean, that’s I I do anything for an NFL. I’ll play one game. I’ll play one game. I I’ll also tell you this, the other risk to that if he goes that route. The other risk would be we’ve all seen it out here, there’s a young man by the name of Donzaraku who is certainly turning heads out here and making plays. I’m not saying he’s he’s I was about to say Des Bryant. I’m not trying to say he’s not Parsons. That’s not what I’m saying. What I am saying is the risky runs is for a two three game stretch there at the early part of the year. Can him, Fowler, Neland, Sam Williams, can they create enough of a pass rush to where the Cowboys defense looks like, oh well, how much do we really miss Micah? Now, don’t get me wrong, for whatever, and I said this on the show the other day when Brian brought that up, for whatever the defense is going to do, my thought is always going to be how much better would it be with Mike, right? So, so yeah, they could be great, but could they be greater? Right? That’s where you you get into that. But but I do think it does lessen your negotiating power and as we said when you’re in these negotiations you’re looking for leverage. If your leverage is okay well let’s see what you do without me and then they perform really well without you may not be with what it would be with you but it’s really good. It’s good enough certainly let’s say they get wins then it certainly changes now your leverage whatever amount of leverage you thought you had there now dwindles and it changes your negotiating power. Right. and and Michael Parsons I don’t think has as much leverage as the Cowboys do in this situation which is why because of those years that they still have they can control his right which is why if you’re Michael Parsons and his team you try to get a deal done as soon as you can because if you don’t play then there’s the you’re risking the chances like you said the Cowboys pass rush looks great I think your pass rush is always going to be 10 times better when Michael Parson is on the field we all agree with that I think Gary agrees with right yeah absolutely anybody would u and then you know you also risk the injury of uh the the risk excuse me of missing game checks and that’s a lot of money for for a guy this age and really any age, millions of dollars is life-changing money for anybody. So, if if if we’re talking about Mike aside, get a deal done as soon as you can. So, what advice would you guys give Jerry and the Jones family and the and the front office as far as how you would handle it if you were in this situation and and having to deal with this this whole contract? It depends. Are we trying to get it done or we not trying to get it done? Well, I mean, what what do you think is best? Because I I’ll tell you, for me, I look at it and I say it’s in everyone’s best interest if you can find a deal that works. Now, the point is I think the the way Jerry looks at it is I already have a deal. So, it’s going to have to be something if we’re going to do a new deal, it’s going to have to be a new deal that both of us, me and you, agree is worth tearing up the old deal, right? And and that’s where it gets, you know, that’s where that’s how we end up in the situation we’re in right now is because I think they look at it like we already have a deal in place. And I don’t know if Micah necessarily sees it like I I need to honor the last year of this deal. Then I would at least call the agent and see what they’re trying to play with. You know, see what see where they are, what ballpark they’re in at the very least and then reevaluate from there. Uh it’s it’s tough to say, you know, you want to honor a trade request or not honor a trade request or hey fans don’t lose sleep over this when you don’t know what exactly the other side wants at the end of the day. I mean, you have an idea of what the player wants, but uh the agent’s going to make things a little bit more difficult. I just don’t think there’s been a level of acceptance from the front office that the agent has to be involved here. Uh, and that’s where this thing just gets so weird. It’s it’s it’s tough to it’s tough to gauge, but my advice to the front office would be just call the agent. Figure it out from there. Yeah, I’m with you, Nick. You just got to call the agent. just just start that push and start heading towards the finish line because otherwise if not everybody’s just going to kind of be sitting around look at one another like are we doing this or because Michael Parsons has made it very clear he’s not doing a deal without his agent involved. So if that’s what’s going to be needed to happen in order to reignite things then just ignite things. I think getting something done before the season is in everybody’s best interest because you can get Michael Parsons back out on the field. you don’t necessarily need a ramp up period for him throughout the first couple games of the year like we saw at times with CD Lamb when he was holding out. And you know that at his position is there really as much of a difference? Maybe, maybe not. But nonetheless, if you can get a guy going at full speed week one against the defending Super Bowl champions, then if that’s a game that you know the Cowboys are really wanting to win, which of course they are, you want Michael Parsons on the field. That’s going to make things a lot better and give you a much better shot. So, if I’m Jerry Johns of the Jones family, I’m calling David Migetta and starting to get this ball rolling. Best guess on when this deal gets done. I think the calendar will say September. I don’t know when in September, but I think the calendar will say September. Uh, I think this is just similar to Dak Prescott’s deal where it gets done the day of or the day before the opener. Yeah, I’m kind of I’m kind of closer to you. kind of think that by the time we get back to Dallas that about what is that like a week and a half before the first game. Yeah. I kind of have a feeling it’s going to be in that period. I don’t think it happens here. I don’t I don’t either. I don’t I don’t necessarily think it happens here. I do think if I if I’m just guessing about and again I’m looking at the tea leaves of what’s happened in the past as well. I think that period where you’re back in Dallas and you’re head getting ready for that you know getting ready for that game that opening game against Philadelphia. I would I would not be shocked if this is a Labor Day surprise for us and uh and on Labor Day we’re covering a new deal, but I don’t know. We’ll see. I think I think we all kind of are just waiting for for it to happen. Certainly in the media, that’s always the wait game, right? Just waiting to see when it happens. Uh but that’s that’s ideally based on history. That’s what I would hope and I would guess at this point is maybe they get it done by that point heading into that first week. And here’s the interesting part. My hope is that Micah can then quickly acclimate himself uh to the rigors of playing in an NFL game. You’re going to have to limit his time. If let’s say it happens at that time frame, you’re going to have to limit his time uh in that first game, maybe in the first couple games uh to get him up to speed. But uh hopefully sooner rather than later because quite frankly, I’m tired of covering the story. All three of us. All right, we’re going to take our final break. We’re going to come back. I want to get some camp observations from these guys. We’ll be back. DallasCowboys.com radio. It’s the official men’s skincare brand of the Dallas Cowboys, Jack Black. And right now, Cowboys fans can get 15% off their $75 order. Plus, because every deal needs a playmaker, your order will include a free fivepiece skin care set and free shipping. The Jack Black Playmaker is four of Jack’s favorites and a full-sized intense therapy lip balm. Make a play for the playmaker at getjackblack.com/cowboys with the code cowboys VIP. That’s getjackblack.com/cowboys with the code cowboys VIP. 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AT&T connecting changes everything. Welcome back. It really does. It really does. You just got to connect, guys. Final final segment of the break here live from Oxnard, California. Uh, let’s get to some football. Man, we spent a lot of times talking about Oh, yeah. This segment brought to you by blockchain.com. Appreciate you. Um, that was the most bland ding ever. It was. It was. Let’s Let’s talk though, real quick. I want to get to some football cuz we spent the whole show talking about uh the contract situation, but let’s talk about football here. I want you guys to give me over the last couple practices. Uh, what you’ve seen. I want to get This is what we do for both of you guys. Uh, I want to get a moment and a player um that stood out to you for good or bad reasons, but a moment and a player that have stood out over the last couple practice. Just the last couple of ones. Yeah, we we’re trying since our last show. I got a couple. Uh, let me go player and I’m going to go Kean Hall. Uh, looked really good uh yesterday. Had a couple of deflections. Uh, looked good the day before last. Um, and he’s really starting to factor himself into a potential starting nickel role uh going into the year. Uh, this team doesn’t expect Trayvon Digs to be healthy for week one. So, they are going to have to figure out what to do at that cornerback position. Uh, and if it were me today, I’d put Elim and Bland on the outside and I’d put Kimon Hall at nickel. I I think, you know, despite him being in a competition with a lot of young guys, he has some veteran experience. He has some veteran savvy. He’s been in the league gosh, like six, seven years already, which is crazy to think about. And, uh, I was able to speak to him yesterday coming off the field and this time last year, literally this week last year, he was invited for a training camp workout. ended up making the squad, stuck around on the practice squad, that made the roster at the end of the year last year. And he had an opportunity to start in those last couple of weeks, but a knee injury in practice kept him from doing so. I think he has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder to to start in week one, and I I think uh you know, that’s certainly a player that’s caught my eye. A moment uh it’s going to have to be that CD catch a couple days ago. Uh great coverage from Don Bland and uh bobbling it as he was going down and still hauled it in. And I did a little close frame. I got in on the pixels. He he caught that ball. So, I think this is the best catch so far at camp. So, we do a replay out here. Yeah, we do. We have instant replay right here. Courtesy of uh courtesy of LGO. Yeah, we almost didn’t have it. Uh my my player, this is going to be the happiest Nick Nick’s ever been in a segment. Uh Hunter Lipkkey is is my player. Um you know, this is a guy who with I’m trying to I’m blanking right now. Miles Sanders kind of dealing with an injury at the moment. and he’s seen a little bit more run at running back and they’re doing everything with him. They’re giving him handoffs. They’re throwing him the ball on the flat. They’re having him block. He’s he can do it all. He’s a Swiss Army knife and I I know that Nick has paraded that around for the better part of three years now. And rightfully so. I mean, he’s a good football player and that’s what Brian Shanheimer said, you know, all around this is he doesn’t have a position. He just goes out and plays football and he’s doing it really well. So, I’ll tip my cap to Hunter Liy and then uh the play would be from earlier in that practice on I think it was Saturday. um when uh you know they they they ran a quick flip to Cavante Turpin and they got Terrence Steel moving downfield. They got Cooper BB moving and they just set two really good blocks down the field. Terrence Steel got up on Donovan Wilson and Cavante Turvan makes one cut and takes off. Nobody even touched him. So, uh, that those are plays where you look at Cavante Turpin and how much they’ve ingrained him in this offense so far in camp and you can’t help but think that, you know, when they get him in space, he’s going to be able to make some plays for him this season. Yeah, that’s been one of the most one of the most pleasant surprises for me out here at training camp is how much uh they they have integrated him into the offense when for years since he’s gotten here, I think every media person has been clamoring for get more get Turpin more involved. There’s more that he can do. there’s more opportunity. The guys just has such rare ability getting the ball in his hands. There are only good things that are going to happen from it. And it seems like that’s something that this coaching staff is very committed to doing based on what we’ve seen so far. Yeah, I think that $6 million price tag gives you some incentive to to find some offensive roles for him now too. Now the question is just can his body hold up? Like that’s one of the things though that I will say about him. He doesn’t tend to take a lot of straighton hits. Like he tends to kind of bounce around and when guys hit him, he kind of gl they kind of glance him. So he doesn’t really take those straight on big hits. uh which for his body frame is a good thing. Uh but I’m I’m very excited to see what he can do this year. I told I told Nick the other day, Nick Eatman, I was like, you know, I might in a late round in fantasy, take a little flyer on Devonte Turpin because I I think he’s going to have some opportunities and and his ability will mean he’ll turn those opportunities in some points for you on fantasy. That is that is a good question. Who’s the best late round flyer on this team? Late round or obviously overall it’s got to be CD, right? Yeah, overall CD or Pickkins? I’d probably CD though, but like a late or Pickkins like you you would you would put Pickkins up there. How early would you would you take somebody like Pickkins? Oh man, I I would go Oh, I’d have to think here. I’d have I’d have to go like probably fifth round. But yeah, you’re right. You’re right. I I just think about like at the end of the day, how many points could Pickkins generate at the end of the day? He could probably be a top 15 receiver for I agree with that. I put him in the conversation like I put Devonte Smith. I’ve had Dvonte Smith a couple years where as the second, if you want to call him the second option in Philly, like he still puts up pretty consistent decent numbers. Yeah, he’s a guy you can rely on pretty much. You can get some pretty good and then there’ll be a couple weeks when he just will blow up, right? So, yeah, I put Pickkins in that same kind of category. Uh but yeah, I think Turpin might be something you would you would think about in a late round. I think Jaden Blue would be a good late round flyer, too. Yeah, I think the secret’s going to get out. I think the secret’s going to get out. It’s hard. It’s hard to It’s hard to keep it when he keeps, you know, he keeps making big run plays, man. He’s He’s hard to bring down. Yeah. My fear is just like with so many guys in the mix right now, you just have a hard time knowing exactly the direction they’re going to go. You know, we we see it out here at camp, but once you get into the season, are they going to opt for the more veteran guys or they going to go, you know what I’m saying? It’s just so much. I just that would make me a little bit nervous. There are variables there. That being said, real quick, Cowboys do have a practice this afternoon. It’s a joint practice with the LA Rams. Uh they’ll be out here on the fields in Oxarn, California. If you’re in the area, come on, drop by. Uh but that being said, real quick before we end the show, I’d like you guys to give me one matchup uh that you’re excited to see today uh between the Rams and the Cowboys. I’m excited to see this Cowboys offensive line against the Rams Dline. Uh it’s uh it’s the depth is certainly being tested uh on the offensive line for for the Cowboys. I want to see how they go up against this Rams defensive front that is young, deep. Uh they got a lot of guys that that’ll be able to rotate in. You know, how does a guy like Nate Thomas factor in at left tackle? Can he hold guys like Jared Verse? and in the inside Tyler Booker, you know, is he going to be able to handle a guy like Braden Fist coming in the middle? So, I there’s a there’s a lot of guys that um I’m excited to see in the trench battle for sure. I I look outside a corner with the Cowboys, you know, you look at the Rams wide receiver core with Devonte Adams and Puka, Jordan Whittington, they Yeah, they they Texas guy. He has he has been great during I know he has, but he had a Texas by the way. I love Texas, too. So, I’m good with that. and Adams might not practice today. So that would be even more opportunities for a guy like Whittington, right? And then you’ve got, you know, the rest of the guys like 22 Atwell, Tyler Higgby, the rookie Terren Ferguson’s questionable, I know, but nonetheless, you know, you look at the Cowboys quarterback room and just how in kind of dire straits they are because of injuries there. You know, this is a big opportunity for Andrew Booth, if he’s back and healthy, to be able to go out there and play. Uh Don Bland, are they going to put him outside or in the slot? You talk about Kean Hall in the slot. Is he going to be able to show something? Troy Pride is a guy who has had a practice or two where he’s kind of flashed, but then other times where he hasn’t. Same with Andrew Booth. So, it’s good reps for for these guys who may have to be counted on here early just because of these injuries. Yeah, one of the interesting things about that, Matthew Stafford, according to reports, will not be practicing today. Uh, so that does kind of limit that a little bit. You may not get to see the full extent of what this especially if he and Devonte Adams aren’t aren’t practicing. You may not get a chance to see that challenge as much as we really want to see it, but there’ll be some interesting things certainly to follow out here. It’s always a fun practice when you have teams in town. Uh, and the Rams and Cowboys tend to have a a really spirited practice when they get together out here in Oxnard. So, we’ll see how that goes. So, we appreciate you guys joining us. We’ll be back on Thursday. We’ll tell you everything that we saw in this practice. We’ll also do a little bit of a wrap-up here from campus because it is the last uh Cowboys break episode that we’ll do here at camp. We’re going to do a little bit of a big picture uh recap. Some of the things that we liked and didn’t like, some players that stood out, some players that didn’t stand out. We’ll do all that on Thursday. Till then, for Tommy Yish and Nick Harris, I’m Derrick Eagles. This has been the break live on dallascowboys.com radio. This has been a production of DallasCowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.

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