Micah Parsons has officially requested a trade out of Dallas after his relationship with the Cowboys severely deteriorated amid a tense contract standoff.
The Cowboys’ top defensive star, 26, had been locked in a tense standoff with the franchise throughout the offseason as they continued to fail to reach an agreement over a new contract extension.
And with no deal in sight heading into the second week of training camp, the pass rusher has officially attempted to force his way out of Jerry Jones’s team.
Parsons announced that he had formally submitted a trade request in a bombshell statement on social media Friday afternoon, saying: ‘I no longer want to be here.’
‘I wanted to be here. I did everything I could to show that I wanted to be a Cowboy and wear the star on my helmet,’ he began. ‘I wanted to play in front of the best fans in sports and make this Americas team once again. The team my pops and I grew up cheering for way up in Harrisburg, PA.
‘Unfortunately I no longer want to be here. I no longer want to be held to close door negotiations without my agent present. I no longer want shots taken at me for getting injured while laying it on the line for the organization our fans and my teammates. I no longer want narratives created and spread to the media about me. I had purposely stayed quiet in hopes of getting something done. But since there is confusion out there let me clear some things up.’
Micah Parsons has officially requested a trade from the Dallas Cowboys
The relationship between the Cowboys and Micah Parsons has deteriorated to a dire state
It had been reported earlier on Friday that Parsons had negotiated directly with Dallas owner Jerry Jones in Spring, with the franchise believing it had reached a verbal agreement with the player.
However, Parsons’ agent is then said to have intervened, pushing back on the terms hashed out between his client and the team. He attempted to negotiate further but the Cowboys shut him down, demanding that the pass rusher honor their verbal agreement.
Parsons has now revealed that he attempted to bring the Cowboys to the table and open talks on multiple negotiations long before this offseason.
He claimed that he and his agent first tried to begin negotiations ahead of the 2024 season but were shut down. Entering the final year of his contract, Parsons once again attempted to open negotiations with the team this offseason.
‘After the season I told my agent once again to let the team know we were open to negotiate when they met at the combine,’ he wrote.
‘My agent informed me I should wait for other deals to get done because the price would only go up but I didn’t care and wanted to secure myself as a Cowboy long term. This was before any of the other pass rushers deals got done this off season. I knew I would be leaving money on the table but again I was ok with that.
‘Again radio silence as far as my extension. In March I met with Mr. Jones to talk about leadership. Somehow the conversation turned into him talking contract with me. Yes I engaged in a back and forth in regards to what I wanted from my contract, but at no point did I believe this was supposed to be a formal negotiation and l informed Mr. Jones afterward my agent would reach out thinking this would get things done.’
However, Parsons claimed that when his agent reached out to the team to formally negotiate a deal, he was informed that a deal was ‘pretty much already done.’ And once again the team allegedly ‘went silent.’
Parsons, one of the brightest stars on the Cowboys, is in the last year of his rookie contract
‘Yet still not a call email or text to my agent about starting a negotiation. Up to today the team has not had a single conversation with my agent about a contract. Not one demand has been made by my agent about money years or anything else,’ Parsons added.
‘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,’ he concluded.
Jones bizarrely took a shot at Parsons last week when questioned about the defensive star at training camp.
‘Just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re gonna have him. He was hurt six games last year,’ Jones said before then pivoting to take a jab at his quarterback, Dak Prescott: ‘I remember signing a player at the highest paid for his position in the league and he got knocked out for two-thirds of the year.’
Jones was blasted on social media for his bizarre slights at his own players. One of those critics was future Hall-of-Famer JJ Watt.
‘Anytime you can publicly take a dig at your star quarterback and your star pass rusher simultaneously, right before the season begins, you just gotta take it…,’ Watt said, sarcastically.
He added, ‘Nothing makes guys want to fight for you more than hearing how upset you are that they got hurt while fighting for you.’
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones bizarrely took a shot at the defensive star last week
Adding insult to injury, an NFL player saw that post and retweeted it: none other than Parsons himself.
Parsons is set to enter the fifth and final year of his rookie contract – having finished the previous season starting 13 of 17 games (meaning he only missed four games, not six like Jones said). He totaled 12.0 sacks, 43 combined tackles, and 12 tackles for a loss.
His current deal will see him earn $24million this season before becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year if he doesn’t agree to a deal with the Cowboys.
Parsons has been present at the Cowboys’ practice sessions but has not participated in on-field work.
