Micah Parsons wants out.
The relationship with the star pass rusher and the Dallas Cowboys has reached a breaking point, with Parsons announcing Friday morning that he has requested a trade as the Cowboys continue not to engage in contract extension talks.
“I have made a tough decision,” Parsons wrote in a statement on X, “I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys. My trade request has been submitted to Stephen Jones personally.”
As reported earlier Friday morning by The Athletic, the two sides remain far apart heading into the second week of training camp and are not currently negotiating.
Thank you Dallas 🦁👑 🙏🏾! I pic.twitter.com/EUnEj9uRUt
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 1, 2025
Among the key issues: Parsons said he spoke directly with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in March. The team believed those conversations were negotiations and that it had a deal, multiple league sources said. But Parsons believed the talks were just conversations and said he told the Cowboys that his agent would reach out “thinking this would get things done.” When Parsons’ agent attempted to start negotiations, he said the Cowboys declined to engage with him and told the pass rusher that they believed they already had a deal.
“My agent of course told him that wasn’t the case and also reached out to Stephen Jones,” Parsons wrote. “Again the team decided to go silent.”
Now, Parsons says the team is refusing to engage with his agent at all, creating a tense standoff amid increasing friction.
“At that point we decided we would allow the team to reach out to us whenever they decided they wanted to talk,” Parsons wrote. “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.”
The Cowboys, according to league sources, do not plan to deal Parsons but that’s not expected to stop teams around the league from reaching out.
The Dallas Cowboys have no intention of trading Micah Parsons, per sources.
Still, teams around the league are planning to reach out to check on his availability today.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 1, 2025
Parsons, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, has been attending Cowboys practices but not participating in on-field work. The 26-year-old four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher is annually among the NFL defensive player of the year favorites and will likely earn more than $40 million a year from his next deal.
“I no longer want to be held to close door negotiations without my agent present,” Parsons wrote. “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.”
Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs pic.twitter.com/1yX0n70s4j
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 31, 2025
Prior to his statement, Parsons had not communicated publicly since July 22, when he said: “I want to be here. At the end of the day, they sign the checks. Let’s see if they want me to be here.
“I’ve been pretty consistent. If they don’t want me here, I’ll go about my business. I understand the nature of the business. As long as I’m here and under contract, I’m going to do what I have to do to perform at the highest level. But if this is the end, then this is the end.”
The Cowboys are no strangers to contract holdouts, often involving their most prominent players. Since 2019, Ezekiel Elliott, Zack Martin and CeeDee Lamb all staged holdouts that included ugly moments before signing late in the summer, but none advanced to the point of requesting a trade.
“We’re just working with what it is,” Jerry Jones told reporters on July 21. “It’s not uncommon for me, and not anything there’s a lot of angst over. He’s doing a real good job of being here. And that’s important. … We are where we are. And I sign the check. Period.”
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
