The Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons have reached a stalemate in contract talks. Having failed to secure a deal that reflects his status as one of the top pass rusheres in the NFL, the four-time Pro Bowl nod has requested a trade. Along the way, he's teaching the Jacksonville Jaguars have not to approach negotiations with fourth-year defensive end Travon Walker, who's eligible for an extension.
Dianna Rusinni of The Athletic broke the news that the Parsons-Cowboys relationship deteriorated to the point where the star pass rusher was considering drastic measure, including a trade request or severing his relationship with the team.
Not long after her report surfaced, the former Penn State Nittany Lion announced that he no longer wanted to play for the Cowboys. On top of that, he officially requested a trade, noting that Dallas didn't make an effort to engage in negotiations in good faith.
Thank you Dallas 🦁👑 🙏🏾! I pic.twitter.com/EUnEj9uRUt
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 1, 2025
On his post, Parsons makes it clear that he had been wanting to get a deal done but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn't want to get his agent involved in contract talks. The two-time First-Team All-Pro designation made it clear that he wouldn't negotiate under those conditions, which led him to open up about the whole debacle.
And that's the thing, Jones routinely tries to get contracts done without agents, but Parsons wouldn't cave. This might've led the Cowboys owner to call his player out, incorrectly stating that he had sat out six games (it was four) last year.
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Here's how the Jaguars must tackle contract talks with Travon Walker
Based on how negotiations have unfolded, you cannot blame Parsons to want out, and that's precisely what the Jacksonville Jaguars must avoid when they begin contract talks with Travon Walker.
Parsons, a first-round pick in the 2021 draft, logged a combined 52.5 sacks the past four seasons and registered nine forced fumbles. He deserves to be one of the highest-paid pass rushers in the NFL. Granted, Walker isn't in the same echelon as him, but salaries have only gone up since the Jags gave Josh Hines-Allen a five-year deal worth $141.25 million in 2024.
Now, Jacksonville can do several things when deciding how the pay Walker, who's logged 10 sack each of the past two seasons. With defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile in the fold, he's expected to have a breakout campaign in 2025.
Already, the Jags picked up his fifth-year option on his rookie deal, so his contract runs through 2026. The front office can go ahead an already give him an extension before his rate go up, or wait until see how he performs in 2025, and start negotiations next year. The risk of doing so is that they'll probably fork out more cash. Conversely, they can apply the franchise tag on him in 2027.
The last thing the Jaguars want to do, though is to publicly call out Travon Walker and stale negotiations simply because he won't take a lowball offer. The good news is that the general manager James Gladstone hasn't shown signs of engaging in hostile negotiations. For proof, the Jags managed to sign their 2025 rookie class without much trouble.
Also working in the Jaguars' favor is that they have a bit of time before they decide how to approach the Travon Walker negotations. As long as they don't turn it into public drama, they should be alright.