As Cowboys negotiations drag on, Jerry Jones won’t let Micah Parsons beat him at his own game

Micah Parsons had tried to play the game.

The two-time All-Pro Dallas Cowboys edge rusher had tried Friday to prove he’s not only one of the best defenders and players in the NFL right now but also arguably the best in recent Cowboys history at controlling the narrative around his contract negotiations.

Forget timeline, structure or total guarantees.

Parsons entered another competitive sphere Friday when he posted a three-page statement of grievances to social media, detailing what he believed to be at best misinterpreted and at worst bad-faith negotiations.

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Parsons went where Cowboys stars in recent history had not gone: He requested a trade.

“Unfortunately, I no longer want to be here,” Parsons wrote “Up to today the team has not had a single conversation with my agent about a contract … I stayed quiet but again after repeated shots at myself and all the narratives I have made a tough decision I longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys.

“My trade request has been submitted to Stephen Jones personally.”

Predictably, the NFL world was shocked. The Cowboys had dragged negotiations recently with players near-annually, from running back Ezekiel Elliott to edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and on more than one extension with quarterback Dak Prescott.

None had so publicly and so vehemently voiced their frustration with the Cowboys’ negotiating tactics.

Already Parsons’ extension had seemed deeply personal and emotional to team owner and general manager Jerry Jones, whose belief he and Parsons had struck a deal in March was the top barrier to further negotiations, multiple sources with knowledge of the conversation told Yahoo Sports on Friday.

So it seemed reasonable and proportional Friday to wonder: Would this uppercut at Jones and to his precious Cowboys brand, be the straw that broke the camel’s back? Would Parsons’ refusal to worship the Cowboys open the door for real conversation about his trade value?

Jones dispelled that notion in remarks to reporters Saturday.

“I wouldn’t be standing here with you if I didn’t think we potentially had a great future with Micah,” he said. “This is a negotiation. Does it blow me up for somebody to say, ‘Look, trade me’?

“That’s just not a flare sign for me at all.”

Jones’ remarks were surprisingly measured. Sure, he noted that ”life has to go on if something happens to me or anybody else … this thing called the NFL, it’s not about one person.”

And Jones smiled knowingly as he compared the legitimacy of Parsons’ trade request to the legitimacy of the back tightness sidelining Parsons from training camp practice. (Parsons and Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin are among recent players to land on the physically unable to perform list while negotiating a contract, allowing them to minimize injury as well as holdout fines in negotiations.)

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But rather than rail about why Parsons should be grateful to the Cowboys for drafting him in 2021 or grateful to Jones and the brand for how they’ve helped lift his platform, Jones spoke admirably about Parsons’ savvy.

Did the trade request surprise Jones?

“I’ve heard that so many times in my 30 years in the NFL, from not just players but agents,” Jones said. “That is old stuff, 30 years of old stuff, some of these issues we’re hearing about: trading, hurt backs, all that kind of stuff.”

Perhaps the brush-off irritated Parsons, who still appeared on the sideline of Dallas’ Saturday practice after his trade assertion. Or perhaps it assuaged Parsons that his words were heard but his risk not unduly calculated in what may have just been an attempt to ignite negotiations that had been latent since March, multiple sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports.

The Cowboys and Parsons’ lag entering the fifth-year option of his rookie deal is not about whether to pay one of the league’s best players a certain annual value or certain set of guarantees.

Expect any negotiation Parsons signs to outpace Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt’s recent $41 million per year average annual value and Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett’s $123.3 million in guarantees.

The lag is also not about production.

Parsons has yet to reach the Defensive Player of the Year pinnacle Watt and Garrett summited, but his first four career years have featured more sacks (52.5), tackles (256), pressures (177) and quarterback hits (112) than either Watt or Garrett amassed in his first four NFL seasons.

Each won their Defensive Player of the Year awards during their second contract.

Instead, the lag centers on a personal and emotional sticking point for Jones: his closed-door March meeting with Parsons.

Jones believed he and Parsons had negotiated an extension with Jones agreeing to a number that, “make no mistake about it, I reached.”

Parsons’ decision to subsequently tell the Cowboys no deal will get done without Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, irked the organization (read: Jones) sufficiently to quiet any offers or attempts at offers for the more than four months that had followed.

On Friday, Parsons seemed to violate an unstated but consistent dynamic star players have followed:

Let Jerry win the media battle and you’ll win the money battle.

Let Jerry control the narrative and he’s likely to pay you enough to control the market at your position.

Parsons risked distancing Jones as he sought to wrestle control of the narrative and demand a trade … until Jones made himself available to media Saturday to wrestle that control right back.

The regaining of the public upper hand, which Jones values at least as much and in some ways more than winning the financial negotiations, paves the way for eventual discussions that seemed too fractured to mend Friday.

Jones made clear he wasn’t worrying — and encouraged others to follow suit.

“I enjoy Micah,” Jones said.”But as always, in any relationships or different moods at different times of your relationship, that’s what it is. Don’t lose any sleep over it.

“That’s one thing I would say to our fans: Don’t lose any sleep over it.”