Micah Parsons is one of the league’s best pass rushers. That’s been a true statement the moment he stepped onto the field as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. All he’s done is wreck opposing offenses, earning him Defensive Player of the Year votes every season. Simply put, he’s been pretty darn fantastic.

Over the last four years, the Cowboys are the league’s best defense with Micah Parsons on the field by EPA per play.

Across a 1,039-play sample, they’re the league’s second-worst defense over that same stretch by EPA per play when Parsons isn’t on the field.

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) August 1, 2025

Fast forward four years, and the certainty of a future that includes Parsons wearing the star has suddenly become cloudy. The star edge rusher has been looking for a contract extension for over a year, but the front office doesn’t seem all that interested. From our experience with the Cowboys and how they operate when extending their stars, this is right on brand for them. They often wait until the very last second to pull the trigger. It’s become their modus operandi.

While players like Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb annoyingly waited them out, Parsons’ patience has run out as he laid down a bombshell Friday afternoon, requesting a trade from the Cowboys.

Is there a world where the Cowboys are willing to part ways with Parsons? That seems absolutely crazy, and I want to preface this by saying this is not the direction I believe the Cowboys will go; however, if things truly are souring, what should we expect? To authentically enter this bizarro world, let’s examine a few pieces of evidence that have become available to us over time.

We know the front office can be timid with extensions. Recently, Jerry Jones played back at the media, insinuating he was second-guessing the deals he gave Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele. He was making a statement that getting deals done early doesn’t always work out so favorably.

Both Joneses have said it doesn’t bother them to wait. Having players play under contract with something to play for is advantageous and provides more data, even though they’ll cost more money if signed later. Landing a secure investment is what is important to them. They will even go as far as to insert contract language to void guarantees should a player get out of line. This cautious approach almost bit them when the Randy Gregory contract debacle blew up in their face, only to ultimately end up saving them.

There were also some rumblings within the organization last year that not everyone was sold on Parsons. Who were those people? Was there any truth to this? Some viewed this as some type of ploy to bring down his asking price, but as we now know, a deal was never happening last year, so what was that all about? Jane Slater provided some additional insight into some of the things going on behind the scenes. If the team has any hesitation about him and what he’ll provide down the road, have they concluded the juice isn’t worth the squeeze?

What would the Cowboys gain by not extending him? For starters, it would mean about $42 million annually in cap space that they could choose to spend elsewhere. When you look at some of the upcoming free agents on their roster, multiple guys will command large money. Tyler Smith will get an extension, DaRon Bland could also return, and who knows if George Pickens will stick around? Not paying Parsons means the team would have a lot more money to pay other guys.

Additionally, trading Parsons would likely return two first-round draft picks. And depending on where he is traded to, it could end up being top 10 picks. The Cowboys would be stacked with premium draft capital for the next two years, with plenty of opportunities to find a talented edge rusher.

Speaking of talent, the team has made second-round investments in Marshawn Kneeland and Donovan Ezeiruaku in each of the last two seasons. Add another top 10 prospect, and the Cowboys could be set along the defensive line for years to come.

That path may not be desirable to fans, but if this front office has apprehensions about the player, then maybe these factors are what they are considering. Again, we’re not advocating for this route, but if the Cowboys are dragging their feet because they are not sure about this pricey investment, these could be some factors that come into play.