August 01, 2025
It's good to be the Eagles these days. On the field, they're going through training camp, making tough roster evaluations typical of the summer.
Meanwhile, their biggest division rivals are facing much bigger problems off it.
Not long after reports came out that Commanders star receiver Terry McLaurin requested a trade over his contract dispute, a report surfaced Friday from The Athletic's NFL insider Diana Russini that Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons is considering "drastic measures" as his contract dispute lingers, including a trade request or a "declaration" that he's done with Dallas.
BREAKING: The Micah Parsons-Cowboys relationship has deteriorated to the point where the star pass rusher is considering drastic measures which could include a trade request or even a declaration that he is severing his relationship with the team, per multiple league sources… pic.twitter.com/7Yujmv4JQ2
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 1, 2025
Parsons, the 12th overall pick in 2021, enters the fifth-year option of his rookie deal that pays him just over $24 million. The top pass rushers, Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt, have APYs of $40 million or more under their relatively new extensions.
Russini notes that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke with Parsons about an extension during the spring but that Jones and Parsons have different viewpoints on the results of those discussions, and that the Cowboys declined to engage conversations with Parsons' agent, David Mulugheta.
Among the key issues: Micah Parsons spoke directly with Jerry Jones over multiple days in the spring. The team believed those conversations were negotiations and that it had a deal, multiple league sources said.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 1, 2025
But Parsons believed the talks were just conversations and wanted… pic.twitter.com/Jy2fBPIwWP
Later, Parsons essentially confirmed the report, posting on his X account that "I no longer want to be here" and "I no longer want to be held to close door negotiations without my agent present." At the end, he wrote that his "trade request has been submitted to Stephen Jones personally."
Stephen Jones, Jerry's son, is the Cowboys' co-owner, executive vice president, CEO and director of player personnel.
Parsons, the former Penn State star, has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons and first-team All Pro twice. He's had double-digit sacks in each season and averages slightly more than 13 sacks per season. He has five sacks in seven games against the Eagles.
If he were an Eagle, Parsons would probably have been extended after this third season, the time when the Eagles typically give out extensions to their core players and superstars.
The fines for holding out of training camp are steep, but Parsons has made plenty of money from his rookie contract. Holding out has worked against Jones in the past. In 2021, then-star running back Ezekiel Elliott held out of training camp and the preseason going into his fourth year and ended up signing a six-year, $90 million extension right before the season to become the NFL's highest-paid running back at the time.
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