Gtety

The Dallas Cowboys are getting criticized on a move that NFL analysts and experts are saying could cost them in the long run.

The Dallas Cowboys are known for being fairly quiet in the offseason, and that trend is continuing this year, including when it comes to working out a deal with one of the team’s most high-profile players.

Any good Cowboys fan remembers Jerry Jones and company holding out to make a deal with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, which didn’t result in any real benefit for the team.

Now, some NFL analysts and experts are calling out the Dallas Cowboys on their hesitation to make another deal.

Dallas Cowboys on Target to Make a ‘Mistake’

In a March 24 feature for Blogging the Boys, Kevin Knight comments on the Cowboys’ slowness in working out a deal with star Micah Parsons, who’s one of the NFL’s best pass rushes.

In the piece, Knight notes that “Parsons should be one of those ‘slam dunk’ extensions,” who is “a no-brainer star player, entering his prime, and coming off multiple years of elite production.” He adds, “Parsons is about as reliable as they come and would instantly become the most coveted pass rusher available if he were to hit the open market.”

The Cowboys could have worked out an extension with Parsons in 2024, but they didn’t, largely because they had to take care of the Prescott and Lamb deals. Instead, the Cowboys picked up Parsons’ fifth-year option, which was a weighty $24 million.

“The Cowboys had another opportunity to extend Parsons over the past two months, another chance to get out ahead of the massive record-setting deals that were coming for Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby,” Knight notes. “The Cowboys didn’t seize that opportunity, and it’s likely to cost them significantly in the long run.”

Micah Parsons is the ‘Best Player on the Dallas Cowboys’

In a separate feature for Blogging the Boys, published March 25, RJ Ochoa states that he believes Parsons is solidly “the best player on the Dallas Cowboys.” That’s quite a statement, especially since Dallas also has Prescott and Lamb. In the piece, Ochoa notes that Parsons is “on track to have a Pro Football Hall of Fame-level career.”

“On the heels of a rough season with longtime veterans departing, he appears ready and willing to take the mantle of leadership,” he adds. “These are all incredible qualities and ones that you dream about the player you give a massive extension to having in their repertoire.”

Solidifying Parsons for 2025 “is and has been priority number one for a long time now,” Ochoa continues. “If this ripples into training camp it will only hurt the overall goal.”

Bradley Locker of PFF agrees, noting in a March 20 feature about the hottest trade assets in the NFL right now that there’s “no name on this list bigger than Parsons, whose contract situation has yet to be resolved despite players from the subsequent draft class already being extended. Over the past three seasons, Parsons trails only Myles Garrett in PFF overall grade (93.7) and PFF pass-rushing grade (94.3).”

He adds that, “The Parsons trade discourse has cooled for now, but Dallas can’t delay this forever.” Let’s hope he’s right.

Anne Erickson Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter covering the NFL and college football for Heavy.com. Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson

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