Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has finally spoken out about Micah Parsons’ trade request and told fans of the organization to remain calm despite the rocky contract negotiations.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Parsons announced that he had requested a trade last week on social media due to the lack of movement in contract negotiations.
Parsons detailed the ongoing discussions and wrote that he wanted to remain with the Cowboys but is tired of Jones taking shots at home for injuries sustained while on the field, plainly stating that his request has been “submitted to Stephen Jones personally.”
Jones did not immediately address the request after it was announced, but eventually spoke on the news and said trade requests are a form of negotiation with the best players in the league.
“We’re in good shape. This is negotiation,” he said, per Jon Machota.
When asked what he would say to Cowboys fans who are concerned that a franchise cornerstone could be traded, Jones said fans should not “lose any sleep over it.”
Jones later claimed that the two sides had already discussed a contract.
“What y’ll don’t know is what I offered him. And it’s a helluva lot more than you think I did. That’s what you don’t know,” Jones said, according to Shan Shariff.
“It’s not appropriate right now to get into it. But my point is, I reached. Make no mistake about it, I reached.”
These statements by Jones are a direct contradiction of claims made by Parsons, who said in his social media post that “the team has not had a single conversation” with his agent regarding an extension.
Jones has since addressed the contract again in an exclusive interview with USA Today, explaining that it is common for Dallas to take their time with expensive extensions.
“It took a long time with Emmitt Smith. Same thing with (Zack) Martin two years ago. (Cee Dee) Lamb last year. When you have the ability for players under contract to basically renegotiate or say, ‘I’m not going to play the contract,’ then you have those things happen,” he said.
Currently, there is no indication that a deal is coming soon, but there is still one more aspect of these negotiations that is not frequently discussed: Dallas will retain Parsons’ rights for the next few seasons.
In addition to the upcoming season in which Parsons is still under his rookie contract, the Cowboys could potentially use the NFL’s franchise tag two separate times to keep him in Dallas, meaning there are three total seasons in which the four-time Pro-Bowler could potentially play for the Cowboys without a deal in place.
As a result, Parsons could be facing an uphill battle in his attempt to negotiate with the franchise.