Micah Parsons' surprising no-show at OTAs suddenly made his contract dispute painfully evident to the Dallas Cowboys. Though still early in the offseason, NBC Sports analyst Mike Florio believes the Cowboys only have themselves to blame.

Ahead of the final year of his current deal, the injury risk OTAs present is not worth Parsons' time without a new contract, according to Florio. The analyst argues that the Cowboys should have extended Parsons in the 2024 offseason, but are now facing the consequences of their laziness.

“The Cowboys continue to misplay the situation,” Florio wrote. “They drag their feet. And the price goes up. And the player is less prepared when it's time to go play games that count. It's a ridiculous way of doing business. But the Cowboys keep repeating the pattern.”

Florio called Dallas out for repeating the pattern, noting similar situations with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. In the cases of Parsons, Prescott and Lamb, Florio believes the Cowboys were forced to overpay for their extensions after waiting too long to negotiate.

While the Cowboys are now forced to pay Parsons more than $40 million per year, Florio believes the edge-rusher's price tag would have been “closer to $35 million than $45 million” if the deal had been signed in 2024. Instead, Dallas waited until after the Cleveland Browns gave Myles Garrett a record-breaking extension, thus raising the market out of their price range.

Micah Parsons with Myles Garrett amid contract holdout

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While he remains absent from the Cowboys' voluntary OTAs, Parsons is still dedicated to improving his craft in the offseason. The star linebacker was seen training with Garrett in May. The two worked together on traditional pass-rushing drills and in the weight room.

The star pass-rushers have never played together, but maintain a friendly relationship off the field. Parsons celebrated Garrett's historic contract extension, both due to excitement for his friend and acknowledging how the deal impacts his own wallet.

Before signing his new deal, Garrett was much more blunt with his approach than Parsons. The 29-year-old juggernaut openly requested a trade from the team, citing his mental fatigue from repeatedly suffering losing seasons. Yet, he inked a four-year, $160 million extension just a few weeks later.