There aren’t many teams in the NFL that wouldn’t take a run at Dallas Cowboys Pro-Bowl pass rusher Micah Parsons if they got the chance, and a handful might this offseason.
Parsons is entering the fifth-year team option on his rookie contract worth $24 million. However, he is also seeking a contract extension that should make him among the top-paid players at his position across the league.
Spotrac projects Parsons’ market value at $30 million annually over a new three-year contract, which could prove challenging for Dallas to muster after all the money the team spent last offseason to retain quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Cee Dee Lamb.
Other franchises with more salary cap space could elbow their way into the conversation for Parsons if he decides he isn’t interested in signing whatever extension Dallas decides to offer.
In that scenario, the Cowboys could be forced to entertain a trade so as to get value back for Parsons rather than watch him walk away for nothing in 2026 — or 2027 if Dallas decides to use the franchise tag to lock Parsons up for another year.
The Chicago Bears have among the most salary cap space in the NFL with upwards of $70 million currently. They are also in serious need of another quality pass rusher to start alongside Montez Sweat and have the draft capital at their disposal to make the Cowboys a real offer for Parsons.
“If the Cowboys were to make Micah Parsons available, then the Bears should be among the first in line to make an offer,” Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department wrote on Monday, Feb. 3. “They have the cap space and resources to make a deal happen with an extension for the superstar.”