Morning Coffee: What’s next for Parsons and the Cowboys?

The Micah Parsons situation has played out exactly the way most of us expected it would.

As much as I wish that we were given a few more seasons of Succession, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys have picked up where Logan Roy and Waystar RoyCo left off with a real life parallel to the comical dysfunction in the series.

But somehow the Cowboys have provided us with a lot more drama and there’s nothing particularly funny about it, unless you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan.

I can picture Jones bragging to his sons about being the NFL’s version of Logan, only with a better stadium and no interest in a potential exit plan.

Like Logan barking at Kendall, Jones has spent the past couple of weeks telling everybody who will listen that he and Parsons shook hands on the number for a potential contract extension weeks ago and nothing else matters.

Unfortunately, that sentiment doesn’t seem to resonate with FanDuel’s Defensive Player of the Year favourite.

Parsons has one year left on his current deal and head coach Brian Schottenheimer has told reporters that he expects his star pass rusher to be available eight days from now, when the Cowboys visit the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in the NFL Kick-off game.

But Parsons still hasn’t practised with the team, and at this point it’s hard for me to believe he will show up in Week 1 and perform at the elite level that he has in previous years without an extension in place. Remember, Dallas is still considered much more likely to miss than make the playoffs at FanDuel.

With Jones refusing to budge in contract negotiations, Parsons now reportedly dealing with “back tightness," and the Cowboys season opener right around the corner, one of my favourite Logan Roy quotes comes to mind.

“I love you, but you are not serious people.”

This is Morning Coffee for Wednesday Aug. 27, 2025.

What’s next for Parsons and the Cowboys?

This isn’t the first time that Cowboys fans have been left to wonder about the availability of a star player this close to Week 1 of the regular season due to contract issues.

Then again, the Parsons experience feels a little different.

In 2019, Ezekiel Elliott held out until Sept. 4. A year ago, CeeDee Lamb held out until he agreed to a contract extension on Aug. 26.

Then Dak Prescott agreed to a contract extension just hours before the team’s season opener on Sept. 8.

Of course, in every case the franchise would have been much better off with a more proactive approach.

By the time Lamb agreed to his extension with Dallas, the market for star wide receivers was already inflated after each of Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown, and Justin Jefferson got deals done with their respective teams.

Meanwhile, Jared Goff, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love and Tua Tagovailoa all got deals done by late July last summer.

When Prescott agreed to an extension in September, he got an average of $5 million more per year than both Lawrence and Love after the QB market had been set.

A similar scenario has played out this summer.

T.J. Watt signed a three-year, $123 million extension that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history with an average salary of $41 million.

Jones has already said he offered Parsons a contract that would have paid him the most guaranteed money for a non-QB in NFL history.

But there’s no deal in place, neither side is talking, and suddenly the Cowboys are in the unthinkable situation of being willing to pay Parsons but unable to get a deal done with the regular season fast approaching.

Meanwhile, the Washington Commanders reached an agreement on a three-year contract extension with star wide receiver Terry McLaurin on Monday.

The Cowboys won’t even be in the conversation without Parsons in the lineup and performing at an elite level.

Elsewhere, the Cincinnati Bengals reached an agreement with Trey Hendrickson on a deal that will give him a significant pay raise for the upcoming season.

Hendrickson is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season but seems happy after the Bengals nearly doubled his salary for this season.

With Hendrickson looking to cash in, I thought about taking a flyer on him to win AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year at +3300.

However, Cincinnati is going to need to score points in bunches to overcompensate for a defence that remains thin outside of Hendrickson.

With bets on Burrow to win AP NFL Regular Season MVP and Chase to lead the NFL in receiving yards, I’m already heavily invested in the Bengals this season.

Parsons is a perennial DPOY contender but the off-field distractions and potential for him to miss time if the lingering “back tightness” continues could open the door for another favourite to emerge.

Ultimately, I still hope everything works out for Parsons and the Cowboys, even if on the surface it seems like this situation is destined to end in a disaster.

I’m going to take a flyer on Detroit Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson at +700 to win DPOY.

Prior to last year’s season-ending injury, Hutchinson led the NFL with 7.5 sacks in five games.

He also registered two forced fumbles, seven tackles for a loss, and 19 total tackles in those five games.

The second-overall pick from the 2022 NFL Draft is healthy again and looking to pick up where he left off entering his fourth NFL season.

Hutchinson has been a popular pick to win Defensive Player of the Year and for good reason. Count me in.

While it was a lot of fun to celebrate Futures Day at FanDuel, the TSN Betting team still has plenty of season preview content teed up for the next couple of weeks.

Make sure you check back in later today as we roll out more team previews focused for the NFC North at TSN.ca.

Have a great day, everyone!