The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly still far away from agreements with quarterback Dak Prescott and linebacker Micah Parsons that would keep the two star players with the organization for years to come.
Dallas finally managed to agree to an extension with superstar wide receiver CeeDee Lamb following a multi-week holdout from training camp. He will now remain with the franchise on a four-year contract worth $136 million, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Now, the Cowboys must shift focus to re-signing Prescott and Parsons before the price tags for each player get too high for the franchise.
Both Prescott and Parsons are coming off career seasons in which they helped the Cowboys finish 12-5 and in first place in the NFC East division before an embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the playoffs ended the season.
Prescott led the entire NFL with 36 touchdowns while throwing for 4,516 yards and only nine interceptions, while Parsons collected 64 total tackles and 14 sacks.
Despite the Cowboys having the funds to afford each player on new contracts, new reports have indicated that the franchise does not feel any desire to complete the deals in the near future.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on Monday that the Cowboys were “no closer” to getting deals done with either Prescott or Parsons, adding that the organization does not seem to have a “real sense of urgency to get a deal done” with either player.
“And the urgency helped them today with CeeDee Lamb, but it has not really been there, nor should it be there with Dak Prescott nor Micah Parsons. So those two situations continue to linger on. And now that Dallas has reached the agreement with CeeDee Lamb, it can take some of the attention that it was devoting to their wide receiver and now begin to focus it on the quarterback and the elite defensive player that Micah Parsons is,” Schefter explained, per Bleacher Report.
“But it doesn’t appear at this time that a deal with either one of those players — Parsons or Prescott — is any closer despite the fact that CeeDee Lamb now has an agreement to keep him in Dallas for the next five years,” he said.
Prescott is entering the final year of his contract and will have the opportunity to sign with another team during next year’s free agency period if he is not re-signed, meaning the Cowboys could potentially lose the three-time Pro-Bowler for nothing.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Prescott could command more than $60 million in his next contract and become the highest-paid player in NFL history.
On the other hand, the Cowboys still have two seasons to work out an extension with Parsons, though the two sides are likely to begin ramping up discussions following the upcoming season.
Parsons has discussed his upcoming payday multiple times in recent months and said he is prepared to be patient with the negotiations, adding that he could see himself becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Regardless of when these extensions will be completed, the Cowboys must also focus on the upcoming regular season, which begins in less than two weeks.
Dallas will travel to Cleveland to begin the regular season with a game against the Browns, which is scheduled for September 8 at 3:25 p.m. CT.