Dallas Cowboys first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer plans to meet with disgruntled All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons on Sunday about his actions during the team’s preseason win Friday over the Atlanta Falcons.
Parsons, 26, has missed the entire three-game preseason during his hold-in while in a contract dispute. He was the only Cowboys player not wearing a jersey while on the sidelines in Friday’s game. He was observed lying down on a training table behind the team bench while the Cowboys were on offense in the third quarter.
Schottenheimer said on Saturday in a conference call with reporters that he wants to talk with Parsons about the matter, which went viral on social media.
“Without talking to Micah, I need to figure out what he was doing and why he was doing it,” Schottenheimer said during the conference call, per ESPN. “So until I talk to him, I’m obviously not going to talk about it.”
Parsons posted on social media after the game a quote-tweet of WFAA’s Mike Leslie’s post that said the player was on the training table for “a relatively short portion of the evening.”
“I’d never disrespect the guys out there fighting for their lives,” said Parsons, a four-time Pro Bowl honoree (2021-24) and two-time first-team All-Pro (2021, 2022).
Schottenheimer said an MRI on Parsons’ back on Friday was “pretty clean” after Parsons had mentioned back tightness at minicamp in June. The coach expects Parsons to be ready to play for the season opener on Sept. 4 against the host Philadelphia Eagles.
“I think (defensive end) is an area that we’re pretty deep,” Schottenheimer said.
It’s the latest episode in an almost daily soap opera between Parsons, who has asked to be traded, and the Cowboys and longtime owner Jerry Jones.
Late Thursday night, Parsons scrubbed the Cowboys from his social media bios and posted what could be considered a farewell video to the organization.
Parsons is in the final year of his contract, which is the fifth-year option teams hold for first-round picks, and the Cowboys could use the franchise tag to retain him in 2026 and ’27. From Jones’ perspective, he considers Parsons essentially under contract for not only 2025, but the next three seasons.
“I can’t imagine anybody sitting out for three years, at all,” Jones said in the interview Friday.
Parsons’ profiles in his Twitter and Instagram pages both tout his Penn State background with a “TBD” now in place of the Cowboys as his employer. And on TikTok, he posted a video that contained a photo gallery of Parsons, in his Cowboys uniform, that contained game photos that could have been taken as the All-Pro both waving goodbye and blowing kisses.
Jones chatted with Michael Irvin on the YouTube channel of the Cowboys legend and detailed what he said was the contract offer to Parsons, which would have made the defensive star the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
“Nobody appreciates Micah Parsons more than the Cowboys or me,” Jones said. “Nobody has ever offered him more money than I have to play football. Period.”
Parsons and Jones met earlier this year to discuss contract parameters, among other things. Jones has said the two had a deal in place. Parsons has said it was the framework for discussions between Jones and Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta.
“When we wanted to send the details to the agent, the agent told us to stick it up our a–,” Jones said. “Just so you’re clear.”
It was not clear when the Cowboys contacted Mulugheta, whether it was soon after the meeting or since Parsons publicly requested a trade Aug. 1 as his relationship with the front office continued to diminish.
Parsons attended training camp but did not participate, and the video has only stirred speculation that he will sit out the season and sacrifice his huge pay raise for 2025.
The Cowboys selected Parsons with the No. 12 overall pick of the 2021 draft, and he signed a four-year, $17.1 million contract. The Cowboys picked up his fifth-year, $24.007 million option for this season.