OXNARD, Calif. — Micah Parsons is in tune with how the Cowboys do business and how the rest of the league seemingly does theirs.
He had said he gets it, even if doesn’t understand why the Cowboys have waited until deadlines to make deals with their best players, while other teams — in many cases — get ahead of it. This offseason, Parsons watched the Pittsburgh Steelers pay T.J. Watt, the Las Vegas Raiders pay Maxx Crosby, and the Cleveland Browns pay Myles Garrett.
“Must be nice,” Parsons said earlier this offseason.
Now, just as Garrett did during his negotiations, Parsons is requesting a trade, seemingly in hopes of forcing a resolution: whether in Dallas with a new deal, or elsewhere.
Cowboys
“Up to today the team has not had a single conversation with my agent about a contract,” Parsons wrote in a statement posted to X. “Not one demand has been made by my agent about money, years or anything else. Still I stayed quiet but again after repeated shots at myself and all the narratives I have made a tough decision I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys. My trade request has been submitted to Stephen Jones personally.”
Cowboys co-owner Stephen Jones offered no comment when asked Friday about Parsons’ trade request. This is new ground for the Cowboys, but with a year remaining on Parsons’ contract and at least two years of potential franchise tags available, it’s not guaranteed Dallas would oblige Parsons’ request.
But what if they did?
History tells us the Cowboys could receive a haul — something the Mavericks missed out on when they moved Luka Dončić to the Lakers without notice.
Back in 2018, the Raiders traded 27-year-old star pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears for two first-round picks, a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick. The Bears, who paid Mack a new record-setting salary, received a second-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick.
Mack, at that point, had 52.5 career sacks. That’s the same amount that Parsons, at the age of 26, has at this stage career.
Parsons could get a similar trade return if the Cowboys were willing to move him. One problem: the Cowboys wouldn’t be able to reap the benefits of that trade until after this coming season and the next draft.
So, which teams could try and acquire Parsons if he were made available? Here are the odds for Parsons’ next destination, according to Bovada.
Las Vegas Raiders (+500)Cleveland Browns (+600) New York Jets (+600)Arizona Cardinals (+700)Tennessee Titans (+750)
Perhaps the favorite for Parsons’ next destination should be his current team. The Cowboys likely wouldn’t move Parsons. That’s not going to stop other teams from calling.
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