Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer expects Micah Parsons to attend mandatory minicamp amid contract negotiations

Dallas Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons is expected to sign a record-breaking extension sometime in the near future, but the clock is ticking. The Cowboys begin mandatory minicamp on June 10, and first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer said that he expects Parsons to attend. 

“I would assume,” Schottenheimer told reporters. “Micah and I talked a couple days ago. Again, he’s doing a little bit of traveling, but again, everything that he and I have talked about I expect that he would be here. Like I said, I say each and every week Micah and I have had great communication, everything I’ve asked him to do and vice versa he’s followed through on. So I would expect to see him.”

Parsons did attend OTAs earlier this offseason, but he has not been at practice recently. While Schottenheimer expressed optimism that he would see his star pass rusher on the practice field next week, that would be surprising. Parsons enters the final year of his contract, which pays just over $24 million in 2025. As one of the best players at his position, Parsons deserves more money and the long-term security that comes with a new contract, and he could up the ante in negotiations by holding out. 

Parsons hit the ground running with 13 sacks in his first professional campaign, which landed him Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. The 26-year-old quarterback terror is the only player in NFL history to have recorded at least 12 sacks in a player’s first four seasons. In 63 career games, Parsons has notched a total of 52.5 sacks.

The Cowboys once again hurt themselves by waiting to strike a deal with Parsons. The pass-rush market has already been reset multiple times this offseason, and Parsons’ camp could be fighting to surpass Myles Garrett’s $40 million average annual value. 

“I would say I’m more in my prime than a lot of these other guys who are more in the second half of their career,” Parsons told CBS Sports earlier this offseason. 

Current highest-paid pass rushers in the NFL

via Over The Cap

If Parsons surprises Schottenheimer and skips out on mandatory minicamp, he is subject to fines. However, since Parsons is still on his rookie deal, the Cowboys have the option to waive those fines if Parsons eventually signs a new contract. 

Extending Parsons as soon as possible is important for a number of different reasons, one being that it’s beneficial to have him in the building for the entirety of the preseason program. We’ve seen numerous players start seasons slowly when holding out for new contracts, and that’s something Parsons wants to avoid. 

“It’s extremely important,” Parsons said of getting his deal done before training camp to avoid a holdout. “You really see a lot of players struggle, guys aren’t participating in camp and get off to slow starts,” Parsons said Tuesday night. “I don’t want to get off to no slow starts. I want to hit the ground running and establish ourselves in this league and get some wins early in the season and be in rhythm. It’s going to be extremely important to get going and lead these guys.”