Micah Parsons wants to be a lifetime Cowboy

The Dallas Cowboys have one of the best defensive players in the entire league, and lucky for them, edge rusher Micah Parsons doesn’t have plans of leaving any time soon…or ever. The Cowboys will have to do their part too, of course. At the moment, he, quarterback Dak Prescott, and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb are all top tier players being underpaid at their positions while they finish out their contracts. Prescott and Lamb, however, are heading into the final year of theirs, while Parsons has two years left on his thanks to the Cowboys exercising the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.

While Lamb has been holding out of training camp demanding an increase in salary and a contract extension, Prescott and Parsons are patiently waiting for their time to come. As far as All-Pro Parsons is concerned, it will pay off in the end as the market will continue to increase. By the time he gets his contract extension with Dallas, he expects to be the highest paid non-quarterback in the league.

“To be honest with you, I always told you guys, the contract stuff will always take care of itself,” Parsons said. “Winning games is what I need to take care of. I focus on winning games and making plays and getting sacks. Jerry [Jones] can meet up with my agent later and they handle all that other stuff. I don’t know how that goes. I’m on my first deal, and I know I got two years left here, so I’m going to try to maximize those as much as possible.”

Parsons talks future with the Cowboys

While the Cowboys drag their feet on getting deals done with the best players on their team, fans are getting nervous that any one of them could walk. And while Prescott admitted that it’s possible another team is in his future, Parsons said he plans to stay put in Dallas and lay roots.

“When you talk about career and legacy, I don’t think there’s a better career you can have than when you’re playing for the star and you have a chance to be the best with the star and you retire a Cowboy,” Parsons said. “You look at [Jason] Witten, you look at Michael Irvin, you look at Emmitt [Smith], you see they’re still in the community, still active. The star holds so much weight and the legacy that brings.”

“Look at Charles [Haley], he still bothers me in the locker room every week. There’s nothing like wearing the star when you do it the right way. So in terms of being here, I want to be here my whole life. I plan on building a house here and being in Dallas forever. I love the city. I love the community. I love for what it stands for.”

Parsons entered the league in 2021 and has since racked up 40.5 sacks, 260 pressures, 169 hurries, and 89 quarterback hits. He can play at edge or linebacker and absolutely dominate at both. New defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer plans to utilize Parsons in different ways this season. Parsons has not commented on whether he will be a full-time linebacker on running downs, but no matter where he is on the field, he plans to continue to dominate.

“I am still, I would say, one of the most feared players in the league, if you look at it,” said Parsons. “It’s more that I just want to be better for myself.”

The only thing Parsons has been criticized for is his leadership, something that Zimmer and head coach Mike McCarthy have both called on him to improve. Parsons has not hesitated to step up to the task. He has organized daily meetings with Zimmer, running game coordinator Paul Guenther, and cornerback Trevon Diggs who is recently back from an ACL injury.

“So every day I walk around the room and make sure everyone has their notebook,” Parsons said. “I make sure everyone has a water bottle. Now, to me, there are no excuses. I want to check every box, so no one does feel like they’re behind.”