The Dallas Cowboys aren’t known for being the most active team during the offseason when it comes to signings and trades, and they’ve also often dragged their feet on big contract deals and extensions. Who doesn’t remember how long it took them to work out a deal with star quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb?
Now, the Cowboys are taking their time on making a deal with another star player: defensive end Micah Parsons. While many NFL experts and analysts are urging the team to make a deal before the rate of a good defensive end increases to wild amounts, Cowboys COO and co-owner Stephen Jones says the powers at be are not worried about the criticism.
Dallas Cowboys’ Stephen Jones Talks Offseason News
It’s a big week for the NFL, because this week starts the NFL’s annual league meetings in Florida, where staffers and coaches get together to talk about new, proposed league rule changes and more.
Ahead of the week’s festivities, Jones gave an update on where the team stands when it comes to Prescott, Parsons and plenty of other issues. He spoke to the media on Sunday, March 30, and spilled the beans on where the team is with Parsons negotiations.
When asked about Parsons, Jones said, per Dallas Cowboys staffer Tommy Yarrish, that they’ve “had visits with Micah, Jerry and I have, and feel good about that.”
He added that when it comes to how different players approach their negotiations, “Some guys want to visit, some guys don’t want to visit about their money, and we respect both ways. If players want to come in and talk to us, we’ve got an open-door policy whether it’s Jerry or myself, and Micah likes to visit, so that’s a good thing.”
Of course, one of the biggest questions Cowboys fans have regarding Parsons is whether his deal with me in by the time the team hits minicamp. Jones didn’t want to give “any details” on that, because he said it isn’t “fair for anybody other than we’ve got a great working relationship with Micah and think the world of him,” adding, again, that they’ve “had good visits with him and feel good about where we’re headed.”
Jones Silences Cowboys Critics
The Cowboys have been getting criticism from experts, analysts and fans for not rushing to re-sign Parsons, but Jones says that doesn’t bother him. In fact, it sounds like he couldn’t care less about what others think.
“We’ve done them early before and we’ve waited until the end to do them,” he said, “a lot of it is just the negotiations itself. Some of them take longer than others, we put about zero credence into people saying we wait too long.”
Finally, Jones gave an update on beloved quarterback Prescott and his progress during rehab for an injured hamstring, stating that the player is “doing great” and “coming along.”
He certainly doesn’t sound like someone ready to trade Prescott.
“He’s very thrilled with where he is and I know the trainers are too, I feel like he’s doing a hell of a job,” he added regarding Prescott’s status. When asked about if Prescott will be ready to go at the beginning of the offseason training, he said, “He’ll have some limitations yea, but you know Dak, he’s a worker. We’re thrilled with where he is.”
