A former NFL general manager has expressed surprise at the silence between the Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons’ camp amid a tense contract standoff, as both sides remain unwilling to budge.
Last week, Parsons issued a letter expressing his desire to be traded as contract extension talks with Dallas haven’t gone as planned. However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones practically dismissed that request, noting it’s part of the negotiations.
With the two sides standing firm and neither side giving in, former Las Vegas Raiders general manager Mike Mayock appeared on Wednesday’s edition of “The Rich Eisen Show” and was asked whether a deal between Parsons and the Cowboys gets done before Week 1.
“I’m blown away by the lack of communication,” Mayock told Eisen. “I really am. The player is in camp, and they’ve got to be talking to the agent. At this point, with all the comps out there, he’s 26 years old. He’s one of the most dynamic and explosive defensive players in the league. We all know what the numbers got to be, plus or minus. You got to go make the deal.”
Frustrations are boiling over for Micah Parsons as it looks like he's nowhere close to getting the new contract he desires from Jerry Jones and the #DallasCowboys:#NFL pic.twitter.com/y57dcwt76Q
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) August 6, 2025
Mayock does mention that if the Cowboys want to continue to play hardball and have this standoff leak into the regular season, they can, but at this point, he believes both sides should be communicating to get a deal done.
“Jerry could be sitting there and going, ‘Wait a minute. I got him for [$24 million] this year, and I can hold on to him next year at an exponent higher than that based on a franchise tag. So I can get him for two years,'” Mayock added.
“And really, the only thing [Parsons] can do is hold back services, which most players won’t do, because you’re going to give up 10 weeks’ salary at age 26, in the prime of your career, because you got to report before Week 11 or your contract tolls, meaning it doesn’t count this year and you’re right back in the same situation next year. So if the Cowboys want to be tough, they can be. But Rich, let’s just open the doors of communication and get him on the field. It makes no sense to me.”
Dallas will be in the building when the Philadelphia Eagles raise their banner in Week 1. Not having Parsons ready to go will put the Cowboys at a major disadvantage with them already needing to deal with the away crowd and an Eagles team coming off pre-game celebrations.
