On Friday, Dallas Cowboys All-Pro defender Micah Parsons officially requested a trade after months of contract talks led nowhere.
Parsons has been open in his desire for a new contract for months, and elected to attend training camp instead of holding out with hopes of getting a deal done. However, the start of camp led to some contentious public comments from both sides about how much Parsons is worth. A few hours before Parsons released his statement, a report emerged detailing how everything completely fell apart and stated the Cowboys are not negotiating with Parsons's agent. That same report suggested Parsons was close to taking "drastic" action to get what he feels he deserves.
It turns out that's a trade request. Parsons officially requested Dallas send him elsewhere in a lengthy statement on Friday afternoon, calling out the team's front office for how it's handled his negotiation before signing off with the news he had officially submitted his trade request to Stephen Jones.
With the caption, "Thank you Dallas!," the statement reads:
"Yes I wanted to be here. I did everything I could to show that I wanted to be a Cowboy and wear the star on my helmet. I wanted to play in front of the best fans in sports and make this Americas team once again. The team my pops and I grew up cheering for way up in Harrisburg, PA. Unfortunately I no longer want to be here. I no longer want to be held to close door negotiations without my agent present. I no longer want shots taken at me for getting injured while laying it on the line for the organization our fans and my teammates. I no longer want narratives created and spread to the media about me. I had purposely stayed quiet in hopes of getting something done. But since there is confusion out there let me clear some things up.
"I had my agent reach out to the Cowboys last offseason after my 3rd year in hopes of getting a deal done early. Unfortunately the team did not want to start any negotiations at that point. I was ok with that didn't complain and focused on the 2024 season. After the season I told my agent once again to let the team know we were open to negotiate when they met at the combine. My agent informed me I should wait for other deals to get done because the price would only go up but I didn't care and wanted to secure myself as a Cowboy long term. This was before any of the other pass rushers deals got done this offseason. I knew I would be leaving money on the table but again I was ok with that. Again radio silence as far as my extension.
"In March I met with Mr. Jones to talk about leadership. Somehow the conversation turned into him talking contract with me. Yes I engaged in a back and forth in regards to what I wanted from my contract, but at no point did I believe this was supposed to be a formal negotiation and I informed Mr. Jones afterward my agent would reach out thinking this would get things done. But when my agent reached out and spoke to Adam he was told the deal was pretty much already done. My agent of course told him that wasn't the case and also reached out to Stephen Jones. Again the team decided to go silent. At that point we decided we would allow the team to reach out to use whenever they decided they wanted to talk.
"Yet still not a call email or text to my agent about starting a negotiation. Up to today the team has not had a single conversation with my agent about a contract. Not one demand has been made by my agent about money years or anything else. Still I stayed quiet but again after repeated shots at myself and all the narratives I have made a tough decision I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys. My trade request has been submitted to Stephen Jones personally."
Parsons, 26, is a two-time All-Pro and considered one of the NFL's top edge rushers, with 52.5 sacks over his first four seasons. Should the Cowboys agree to shop the elite defender, the rest of the NFL will be falling over itself trying to acquire him.
Parsons is a tremendous talent—and one who is apparently tired of negotiating with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.
