FRISCO, Texas – Here we go … again.
So many in a tizzy over the Cowboys in the process of negotiating a contract extension for Micah Parsons, talking and writing about it with bated breath. Come on, relax. It's April, for cryin' out loud. And, BTW, Parsons is under contract for a guaranteed $24 million, so it's not like he's going anywhere.
Good grief, if a new deal never is exercised, the Cowboys would have rights to retain his services by franchising him for 2026, at right around a guaranteed $29 million – a 20 percent increase on his fifth-year option the team picked up last May.
On top of this, the Cowboys again are being accused of dragging their feet – hey, do you pay your monthly credit-card bill three weeks ahead of the due date – plus, Jerry Jones plunged most everyone into a hissy this week from the NFL meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, when he said that while having talks with Micah already on the new deal he hasn't spoken to his agent yet. Spare me. Co-owner Stephen Jones might have.
And said that getting this deal done is not "urgent," for my above reasons for starters, then doubling down by expounding, "Some say using the basis that the earlier you get something done the cheaper. Well, the earlier you get something done, a lot of times the more mistakes you make. You might want to see a few more cards played."
Then, of all things, intentionally or not, ol' Jer burst himself onto every sports-related website headline, streaming across every sports TV channel crawler and into at least one headline segment with hosts on NFL Network and ESPN talk shows when having the gall to say, "I'd rather pay more and get it right than I had pay less and screwed it up."
See, so many are hung up on Micah becoming the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history, that the number has to be a $200 million package. No one points out if that means over five years ($40 mil a year) or four years ($50 mil a year). And you don't know what Micah is asking for behind closed doors. Most assume $40 million a year is now the going rate for these top defensive ends. He might be willing to settle for that, but likely is asking for $50 million just in case he might get it. As Michael Irvin used to say about setting goals, "You shoot for the moon and just might find yourself in the stars."
Hey, Dak Prescott's folks were asking for more and settled for a package worth $60 million a year. CeeDee Lamb's folks were asking for more guaranteed money and settled for $100 million guaranteed from the four-year, $136 million package.
Gosh almighty, you telling me we potentially might have to put up with this hysteria for another four or five months.
Look, think about this. If you are paying this amount to a defensive player, don't you want assurances he is going to step up to be a team leader? That he is participating in the offseason workouts, not going off to Austin to do his own thing. Don't you want him to be a present locker room leader? Not an independent contractor worried more about his sack numbers than doing his job on all plays in the defensive scheme for the betterment of the team.
And what about during the pre-practice stretch segment, lining up on the field with the other defensive linemen or linebackers, with the rest of the team as everyone else does and is not off to the side as he was doing at times last year with Trevon Diggs.
Maybe those are the cards Jerry wants to anticipate. Leading the team with 12 sacks and 72 pressures is one thing, but just 12th in total tackles with 38 when playing 63 percent of the snaps in his 13 starts is another. But what about just LEADING the team, period.
So, you know, just settle. This reminds me of having to invoke my yearly contract negotiation parable produced by former a colleague, the late Frank Luksa, who covered the Cowboys from their inception. He would use a player holding out for a better contract with the analogy of a cat caught up in a tree, causing quite a commotion. Does the owner call 911? Call the local volunteer fire department to come with the ladder truck to get the cat down? Or just wait, no panic?
Why, the guy we called Uncle Frank in the newspaper business would reason, "Have you ever found a dead cat in a tree? They all eventually find their way down."
And 99 percent of the time, like true red-blooded Americans, players holding out eventually come in to sign before missing a paycheck.
In Micah's case, and I'm no financial expert, but what would you rather do? Make the $24 million guaranteed for just one season paid out weekly in 1/18th portions over the course of the 18-week regular season? Or have like have a $50 million signing bonus included in your multi-year guaranteed package stuffed into your financial portfolio tomorrow?
This, too, shall work itself out.
Stifle.
- Pushed Aside: While the hullabaloo over banning the tush push has been tabled until the next NFL Meetings in May, what about just banning any sort of pushing, too, like this nonsense of pushing a runner with the ball from behind by all these charging offensive linemen to avoid any stop of momentum? That, to me, is far more dangerous. And this had been banned in the NFL until 2005. Hey, this isn't rugby or Australian Rules Football. Making sense of this is NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who said when asked about the potential tush-push ban, "There's a lot of discussion about going back to the previous rule [pre-2005]. … The reality of that is, I think that makes a lot of sense in many ways because that expands it beyond just that single play. There are a lot of plays where you see someone pushing or pulling somebody that are not in the tush-push formation that I think do have an increased risk of injury. And so I think the committee will look at that and come back in May with some proposals." You go, Commish.
- Kicking It Around: As for the three main rule adjustments, all for them. Absolutely push the ball placement after a kickoff touchback up five yards from the 30 to the 35 to promote more incentive for returns instead of settling for a ceremonial play that bores the tears out of us. Expanding instant replay's ability to immediately help the on-field officials with missed or bad calls to avoid challenges, all for that expansion to cover more plays. And about time the NFL aligned the playoff overtime rule assuring each team of one possession with the regular season rule, where previously if the team winning the coin toss to receive the ball first scored a touchdown, game over. Although wished they had expanded the overtime period of 10 minutes to 15 minutes that the owners rejected, meaning even though both teams get a possession, if the receiving teams goes on an eight-minute drive, not much time for the other team's possession.
And for this week's last word, let's turn to head coach Brian Schottenheimer from the variety of topics covered during his interview at this week's NFL meetings, allowing everyone to get to know him a little better.
On all the work a new coach must put in to implement his system and transition to a new coaching staff: "That's the way I'm wired. I love to work."
On what he wants his offensive identity to be: "Physical. … My M.O. has always been to run the football. Physicality is the first thing that kind of jumps out at me."
On the free agent signing of running back Javonte Williams: "A guy we really liked coming out of North Carolina (in the 2021 NFL draft when he was the pass game coordinator at Jacksonville)."
On the signing or trading for 21 players so far, the majority on defense: "I got [new offensive coordinator] Klayton Adams looking at me, saying, 'Hey man, I thought you were an offensive coach.'"
On his thoughts on the tush push: "Not the most beautiful of plays. … I don't watch much rugby, but it looks like it."
On fitting drafted players into a certain scheme: "If your scheme doesn't have the flexibility to fit into what your players do, well, then you're not a very good football coach, in my opinion."
On if backup offensive lineman Brock Hoffman, who ended up starting seven of the 17 games he played last year (mostly at right guard for the injured Zack Martin), can be a 17-game starter: "I would never bet against Brock Hoffman. Brock Hoffman, if I was in the back room of a bar and had to get out, the way he's wired, man, he'd be one of the first guys I'd want with me. Absolutely."
When asked what his role mostly will be during the upcoming 30 Visits with the draftable college players: "I won't be doing the football stuff. I'll be doing more of the, 'Hey man, let's sit down and talk.' Just man to man visits. … If you're looking at it like a family, you better get to know who you are adding to your family."
And lastly, when asked for one Jerry Jones story from his going-on four years with the Cowboys, one as a consultant and two as the offensive coordinator and now head coach: "One story? Got a chance to go on the boat the other night (at the NFL meetings in Palm Beach). It was pretty cool. I'll leave it at that."
And so will we … until next week, of course.
