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I've been reading that the Cowboys hold all the leverage in their negotiations with Micah Parsons, but what if he decides to not play? What does Dallas look like then without maybe the best defensive player in the NFL? Does that carry any leverage? Could this be Emmitt Smith all over again? –Will Salazar/Phoenix, AZ
Nick: Here's a big difference with the Emmitt situation - that was the defending champions and they had the best roster in the NFL. Winning the Super Bowl wasn't just the goal but the expectation. So not having Emmitt and going 0-2 was a huge deal and the Cowboys eventually met in the middle and signed him.
In this case, the Cowboys hold a lot more of the leverage because Micah has more to lose. Let's not forget ... the reason Parsons was here all of camp and standing on the sidelines with what was described as back tightness, is because he didn't want to get fined. He's not looking to miss any game checks.
One thing I've always been told from the first day I covered the NFL ... a holdout isn't a holdout until they miss a game check. So for Micah to fork up $1.25 million each week just doesn't make a lot of sense. And there's another part of this that people sometimes forget. But Micah Parsons is doing everything he can to get the next deal. He knows he needs to get one now before the season starts, but if he goes too long here without practice, he's probably not going to be at his best against the Eagles, and maybe for a few games. If he starts off slow this year, that will affect his numbers, which will affect his money. Seems like Micah has less leverage here and sitting out doesn't appear to be in his best interest.
Patrik: I'm on record as saying the Cowboys have a ton of leverage, but not all of it. The remainder is TBD, if you will, because if the deal isn't done by the start of the regular season, and Parsons decides to sit out Week 1, and Dallas suffers a loss to the Eagles, and if that's due to the inability to get after Jalen Hurts, then some of that leverage will indeed slide toward Parsons; and even more so if they fall to 0-2 due to two losses within the division to begin the season (and the era of Brian Schottenheimer). That said, knowing the team basically has not one, or two, but three years of control in this situation, there's only so much leverage Parsons can siphon away from the club though, like Emmitt Smith, that could be just enough to become the spark that lights the fire that burns away the contention and gets a deal done. Both sides can only hope things don't continue to devolve to that point, though.
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