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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a self-assured businessman who is not afraid to put his hand on the stove-top. He consistently pushes the limit when it comes to negotiating a new contract with one of his players, and he usually leaves the kitchen free of disaster. The stove is definitely on now, though. All-Pro pass-rusher Micah Parsons turned the gas way up when he requested a trade on Friday.
Following tiresome stalling techniques and ill-advised remarks to the media, Jones might get badly burned this time. With neither side backing down at the moment, the Cowboys' tactics could finally blow up in their face.
But here's the thing. They have already sustained significant damage over the years. Although Dallas managed to come to terms with quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and several other notable difference-makers, it still suffered self-inflicted wounds along the way. Those wounds have festered — potentially affecting the on-field product — and have now turned into a big infection in the form of a disgruntled 250-pound edge rusher.
Although contract talks are generally complicated processes that lack a black-and-white resolution, it is easy to see where Jones and the Cowboys have gone wrong in this crucial area. “They are costing themselves millions every summer,” an anonymous high-ranking NFC executive told ESPN's Todd Archer and Jeremy Fowler.
Dallas continues to go about business the same risky way
Dallas did not secure contract extensions with Prescott and Lamb until late in the summer. During all that lost time, multiple quarterbacks and receivers inked new deals. The market price subsequently rose, making it sting much more when America's Team inevitably paid its two offensive stars. The Jones family did not learn those hard lessons. The big man could not help but touch that stove.
And here we are. On the surface, it is a place the franchise knows all too well. But if one looks deeper, they can see that this contract saga produces its own unique brand of distress, the kind that could actually result in a breakup. The Cowboys have never seen negotiations reach this point before.
It is certainly possible Parsons is applying pressure on ownership in an effort to obtain a history-making deal from the team he rooted for as a kid. The two sides may come together and put pen to paper by the end of August, but there is obvious friction present in this situation.
The Cowboys-Micah Parsons drama is out of control
Jerry Jones tried to get a deal done face to face with an apparently unprepared Parsons, bypassing talks with the 26-year-old's agent, David Mulugheta. He came away from that meeting, which the player says was supposed to be about leadership instead of contract figures, confident that he had retained one of the top defesnive talents in the NFL. Parsons' camp had other ideas. A clearly irked Jones then called into question No. 11's durability for all to hear.
Even if the matter is resolved and the trade request retracted, those incidents are hard to forget. Who is to say tension will not just linger moving forward? The squad could also suffer on the field. Like the anonymous exec noted, Dallas keeps forfeiting money it could have invested in other areas of its roster.
It is important to note that Micah Parsons himself admitted that his agent advised him to wait until other players reset the market with their new contracts, but he wanted to work something out earlier. Now, he wants to leave.
The Cowboys are sporting a massive scar that will reinforce the notion that things must change in Jerry World. Will they stand in front of the mirror long enough to acknowledge it? Fans can only hope, even if it feels futile.
