The biggest story looming over the NFL world in the last few days has been the trade request of Dallas Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons. The Cowboys' bizarre reluctance to pay their best players has become a theme in recent years, and it appears the situation has now reached the point of no return with Parsons' very public trade request.
One person who is upset with Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones is none other than ESPN sports media personality Stephen A. Smith, who recently took to First Take to relay his thoughts.
“You're playing with this man's livelihood, in terms of Micah Parsons,” said Smith. “Yes he's under contract, but the reality is that you know what this man deserves, you had an idea about it, and you're playing these games. Why am I so disgusted with Jerry Jones about this? Because of the things that I've heard… do y'all know that he hasn't spoken to Micah Parsons' agent? You're treating it like the discussions you had months ago with Micah Parsons were a negotiation. It wasn't a negotiation.”
A rough week for the Cowboys
As previously mentioned, the Cowboys waiting until the last second to pay their star players has become a pattern over the last couple of years, with both Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb undergoing similar situations before eventually being signed.
However, neither Prescott nor Lamb ever publicly requested a trade, which has caused immense turmoil in the Cowboys organization over the last few days.
It should be noted that a trade request doesn't mean that a trade will happen. One need look no further than Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett to see a star player request a trade, only to retract that demand when the team paid him the amount of money he was looking for.
Still, it's certainly not a great look for Jerry Jones and company to have the team's best player publicly looking for greener pastures.
In any case, the Cowboys' season is slated to get underway on September 4 on the road against the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
