When news broke that Micah Parsons had requested a trade after some very public back-and-forth banter between himself and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, it quite literally took the NFL world by storm.
Suddenly, one of the best defensive players in the league, a Swiss army knife with scheme versatility, was seemingly on the block, and the NFC East's power balance could majorly shift as a result, both in the short-term and long-term, depending on how Dallas utilizes a potential return.
Breaking down the news on ESPN's NFL Live, Marcus Spears, himself a Cowboys alumnus, explained why Parsons' request is such a problem for Dallas, as losing an elite player can't help a team with a new head coach get where they want to be.
“People have to understand how much this affects a football team that is trying to focus on winning. We have these conversations every d**n year about the Cowboys. It's always some sort of noise that does not play into actually winning football games,” Spears declared.
“So as opposed to me going crazy and losing my ish on TV with the contract negotiation, I'm not going to lose my mind. Shefty has been doing this longer than anybody. He's the best in the business. He usually has a feel for these things.
“I circle back to what I said. Myles Garrett requested a trade. I thought that was going to be it in Cleveland. He ends up signing a whopping $40-plus million a year salary deal. Hopefully, that is what Micah and his agent, David Mulligan, are doing.
“But Lord, have mercy. Do we have a problem? If he's serious, do we have a problem? If you can't get this back to where he is actually wearing that uniform. He's the best player on the team on a team that is absolutely going to need him with a brand new head coach.”
Is Swagu on the money? In a word, yes, as Parsons is the Cowboys' best player, and losing him to any of the NFL's other 31 teams could have a lasting impact on the franchise. But Spears wasn't done there. No, the ESPN personality left his former franchise with one simple question: Why can't the Cowboys just have a normal offseason?
“But here's the other issue. I have: Why can we ever just have a normal offseason with training camp, get ready for the season, go into the season, and play football games? And I don't want to hear it,” Spears asked. “Everybody here always tries to tell me, ‘Swag, calm down. It's going to get fixed. Don't worry about the contract.' This stuff affects the winning! It affects the team and how they actually play football.”
"We have a problem if you can't get this back to where he is actually wearing that uniform. He is the best player on the team."@mspears96 weighs in on Micah Parsons requesting a trade from the Cowboys. pic.twitter.com/cAhfHu75lP
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 1, 2025
