The Dallas Cowboys waited until the brink of the 2024 season to make their big deals with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Micah Parsons would like to flip that in 2025.
The star pass rusher said he'd like to ink a long-term extension before free agency kicks off in March.
"I'm going to try and work with them as much as possible to help them attack free agency," Parsons said Thursday, . "I want to be back with this team. This offseason, I want to be here. I want to get these guys right. I want to take big steps, so hopefully it can be done sooner than later so we can attack the offseason."
Deadlines spur actions, and while nothing is holding the Cowboys to that timeframe, it gives sides at least a modicum of urgency once the season ends to lock down a deal that keeps the edge rusher happy.
"I think I'm the best player in the world. I don't throw numbers out there like that," Parsons said. "I'll see what they're willing to give me."
Despite missing four games, he leads the Cowboys with 8.5 sacks and has three games with two QB takedowns since returning from the ankle injury. The edge rusher has dominated, generating a 19.8 QB pressure rate, the second-highest in the NFL this season (Danielle Hunter, 20.5), per Next Gen Stats.
Parsons reiterated that he doesn't need to maximize his payday to be happy. And getting a deal done before free agency would allow the Cowboys to be more flexible.
"It would be nice to be surrounded by good players," he said. "Players that will help me win championships, I'll say that. To me, having $40 million and being chipped every play and slid into three, four people, that doesn't sound too fun to me.
"So to me, it's about keeping people that can make a difference, and obviously we're going to get Sam [Williams] back, some players back. We'll see how it breaks down, but I want to keep as many guys as possible. They will make the cap work, I don't know."
Parsons hopes that by getting a deal done early, he can avoid the issues that plagued the Cowboys in 2024, with Lamb skipping offseason workouts.
"For sure, I definitely think I need to be here in camp because honestly when so much of the defense is surrounded by your play, your presence, and others getting lined up based off of you, I need to be here so that way I can get these guys [together]," Parsons said. "We can rush together, build that chemistry. So I think it's extremely important that I'm back at OTAs and minicamp and all those types of things."
