Dallas City News

Micah Parsons is doing his part early to help the Cowboys establish a new team culture under HC Brian Schottenheimer and DC Matt Eberflus.

The rubber officially meets the road for the first time during the Brian Schottenheimer era with the start of voluntary OTAs on Monday, April 14 at The Star in Frisco; and a list of players have already begun filing in — including Micah Parsons.

It’s notable to mention Parsons’ attendance for very obvious reasons, the biggest being his ongoing contract talks and the fact that, as stated, this portion of the offseason training program is indeed voluntary.

Others who have also been seen early on the first day include, but are not limited to, Dak Prescott, who continues to recover from a season-ending hamstring injury, DaRon Bland, KaVontae Turpin (newly-extended), Jake Ferguson, Cooper Beebe, Juanyeh Thomas and many others, including newly-signed defensive lineman Solomon Thomas.

Micah Parsons continues to wait for a new contract, and could have sat out the Cowboys’ offseason program. But he didn’t.

It’s a good-faith gesture by Parsons, who will likely get a contract that could match or exceed the four-year, $160 million deal Myles Garrett signed with the Cleveland Browns this offseason. Parsons will make a little more than $24 million this season after the Cowboys picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, but he wants a longer (and bigger) deal after dominating for his first four NFL seasons.

Parsons told the team’s site late last year that he didn’t plan to hold out.

“I definitely think I need to be here in camp because, honestly, when so much of the defense is surrounded by your play and your presence, and others are getting lined up based off of you, I need to be here so that way I can get these guys accordingly,” Parsons told the team’s site. “We can rush together, build that chemistry.

“So I think it’s of extreme importance that I’m back at OTAs, minicamp.”

Dak Prescott knows what it is like to be a star player waiting until the last possible moments for a new contract.

“There’s a lot of slates at a lot of positions. Obviously, Micah Parsons, you’ve got CeeDee Lamb, you’ve got guys that you can name, but there’s a lot of the guys that have an opportunity to step up.”

Amongst Prescott, Lamb and Parsons, only one is heading into the final year of his rookie deal: Micah Parsons.

Parsons’ contract extension has been a major talking point of Dallas’ offseason, amplified after Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones alluded to wanting to see more from Parsons from a leadership standpoint before offering the All-Pro a new deal.

“In every aspect of Micah, he’s got great potential to do more,” Jones said at the NFL’s league meetings. “Every aspect, whether it be in my mind physically or from the standpoint of physically, he has a lot of potential and he is so capable mentally that he could make us all follow him a little bit.”

“I think he’s that kind of individual and that kind of person. But I will tell you that those are the kinds of things that I want to personally have total and complete satisfaction that I’ve got a commitment from him, and that I can see that it’s not just contract talk.”

Prescott said that he and Parsons have spoken in the locker room about his leadership role and that the talk would stay there, but he, like Jones, is high on Parsons’ ceiling as a voice for the team.

“Very confident in [Micah Parsons] and what he can do,” Prescott said. “Who he is and what he wants to is as important as anything. And that’s in being a leader.”

The Cowboys situation at cornerback is a somewhat overlooked issue.

Diggs, who suffered a torn ACL two seasons ago, is currently rehabbing for a cartilage surgery the cut short his 2024 season. There are signs that his recovery is not progressing as quickly as hoped.

Some within the organization fear that the injury could linger well into the 2025 season, raising concerns not just about his availability for training camp but also about his readiness for the early portion of the schedule.

Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones said last week that there’s a “good chance” Diggs (knee) “may not be available” come Week 1, Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

His explosive style of play, which relies heavily on agility and burst, makes a complete and confident return especially challenging after such a serious knee injury. This issue raises huge concerns for the cornerback position in Dallas, but also the monumental price tag Diggs carries after he was given a $97 million contract extension.

We had the chance to get a a clearer picture of the situation when we spoke with longtime Cowboys insider Mickey Spagnola who works deep inside The Star at Frisco. According to Spagnola, the expectation at this point is that Diggs could start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. If that holds true, it means Diggs would miss critical time ramping up in camp, time that’s essential for re-establishing chemistry with the defense and getting live reps.

More importantly, a stint on PUP during training camp could carry over into the regular season, potentially forcing him to miss games as the Cowboys open their 2025 campaign.

On The Mina Kimes Show NFL analyst Todd McShay explained why the Cowboys would likely pick Tetairoa McMillan over Matthew Golden.

“What the Cowboys will very likely do in that scenario if it’s down to those two picks is take Tetairoa McMillan,” said McShay.

“You’ve got your difference-maker on the other side. You look for a big one-on-one guy in Tet — jump balls, don’t need him to be a great route runner in year one. You continue to develop him.”

“I would take Matthew Golden in most other circumstances — this is a Dallas thing specifically, with their offense, their weapons, and Dak’s style.”