Dallas Cowboys training camp began last week with Pro Bowl pass rusher Micah Parsons reporting but not participating as he awaited a contract extension.
Last season, quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb didn’t get their respective new deals done until close to the season, so many assumed Parsons’ situation would follow suit. However, on Friday, Parsons posted on social media that he is requesting a trade.
“I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys,” he wrote. “My trade request has been submitted to Stephen Jones personally.”
ESPN NFL reporters Todd Archer and Jeremy Fowler break down how we got here, what it means and what’s next for Parsons and the Cowboys.
Only Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson (+700) and Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (+750) have shorter odds than Micah Parsons (+800) to win Defensive Player of the Year, per ESPN BET. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
What led to Parsons’ trade request?
At the start of camp, Parsons said he was not frustrated but discouraged. Without any formal negotiations, he finally believed it was necessary to make the request. It was not made lightly. Parsons grew up a Cowboys fan and on draft night in 2021 he willed becoming a Cowboy into fruition — even after Dallas traded back to No. 12 in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Parsons said “repeated shots” led to this decision. At the opening news conference of training camp, owner and general manager Jerry Jones made a flippant remark that even if the Cowboys signed Parsons, it would not guarantee his availability because he “could get hit by a car.”
After several fans yelled, “Pay Micah!” last week, Jones called those remarks “faint” in comparison to what he heard from fans in the Lamb talks last year. Executive vice president Stephen Jones said of the fans’ chant, “It doesn’t change anything. We want to pay Micah, too. He’s got to want to be paid, too.” — Archer
What is Jones’ history with players who requested a trade?
Multiple sources said they can’t recall a time when a Cowboys player requested a trade. Though there have been contentious negotiations in the past — running back Emmitt Smith missed two regular-season games in 1993 — it had not gotten to the point where a prominent player asked to move on.
The Cowboys have ultimately paid their stars, but it has taken time to get deals finished, including with Prescott (twice), running back Ezekiel Elliott, guard Zack Martin and Lamb in recent years.
If he opts to sit, Parsons can be fined $50,000 a day if he leaves camp. However, because he is on his rookie deal the fines can be rescinded by the club. Last year, Lamb went through something similar with his holdout.
Ultimately, Jerry Jones has never lost a star player he wanted to keep. Parsons, however, has pushed the situation further than anybody with his trade request. — Archer
Thank you Dallas 🦁👑 🙏🏾! I pic.twitter.com/EUnEj9uRUt
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 1, 2025
If Parsons refuses to play, how will that impact the defense?
Take away Joe Burrow from the Cincinnati Bengals and how would they be? Or Patrick Mahomes from the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s the type of impact Parsons has on the Cowboys.
Parsons recorded 52.5 sacks in his first four seasons, trailing only Reggie White (70), Derrick Thomas (58), J.J. Watt (57) and DeMarcus Ware (53.5) since sacks became an official stat in 1982. Parsons and White are the only players to record at least 12 sacks in each of their first four seasons, and Parsons reached 12 in 2024 despite sitting out four games because of a high ankle sprain.
The Cowboys like their pass-rushing depth with Dante Fowler Jr., Sam Williams, rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku and Marshawn Kneeland, but those guys don’t have the same impact as Parsons, who was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year in each of his first three seasons.
That foursome has combined for 64 sacks, 55.5 of them coming from Fowler. — Archer
What are people around the league saying?
Multiple league executives interviewed in the hours after the Parsons news made it clear that there is genuine intrigue and surprise about why Dallas takes this tactic with star players.
“They are costing themselves millions every summer,” said a high-ranking NFC executive, adding that the team’s apparent interest in headlines and television conversation around contract issues can’t be enough for the franchise to offset the money lost.
People I’ve talked to leave open the possibility that cooler heads will prevail later into August. But they note that Dallas is also playing with fire regarding a player and agent (David Mulugheta) who don’t mind the role of villain.
“Wrong player,” a source with direct knowledge of Parsons’ process said of the Cowboys’ tactics.
Parsons is the rare star with no blemishes — he’s young, injury-free and on a Reggie White-like trajectory.
A separate NFC exec said he does not believe the Cowboys will trade Parsons. Although the trade return would likely include a first-round pick — possibly two No. 1s — such a deal would be difficult for teams to pull off when considering the contract money they would have to commit to the player in addition to the lost draft capital. — Fowler
The tone of Garrett’s request is much different than the one Parsons made.
Garrett took to social media in February and said, “While I loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won’t allow me to be complacent. The goal has never been to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.”
Five weeks later, Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million extension to remain with the Browns.
Parsons wrote about “repeated shots at myself” and detailed the back-and-forth he had with Jerry Jones in March, saying that the original intent was to discuss leadership but that Jones turned the subject to his contract.
Can the sides repair a relationship that once had Parsons wanting to never leave Dallas and saying to ESPN in December that he didn’t need to be the highest paid defensive player in the game? — Archer
How are other players responding to this news?
Take care of your best players early.
Saves money.
Saves headaches.
The longer you wait, the higher the price.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) August 1, 2025
Reaction to the Parsons news spread quickly across social media, including from several Cowboys teammates.
On X, Lamb responded: “Never fails dawg. Just pay the man, what you owe em. No need for the extra curricular.”
Cowboys teammates DeMarvion Overshown, Trevon Diggs and Juanyeh Thomas each changed their X profile picture to include Parsons.
Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl center Eric Wood posted a pic of Parsons in a Bills uniform holding a Lombardi Trophy with the caption: “Looks good to me.”
Former Arizona Cardinals All-Pro defensive lineman J.J. Watt posted: “Take care of your best players early. Saves money. Saves headaches. The longer you wait, the higher the price.”