What should have been a normal day of training camp turned out to be a PR disaster for Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. The team’s star push rusher, Micah Parsons, has officially requested a trade following months of Jones attempting to circumvent Parsons’ agent and negotiate with him personally.
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The four-time Pro Bowl player posted a lengthy message on social media, with the underlying message being “I no longer want to be here.” The fanbase is in an outrage, but according to the former host of Undisputed, Skip Bayless, this could be a blessing in disguise for ‘America’s team.’
“Parsons has been way overhyped,” Bayless suggested on the most recent episode of his self-titled YouTube show.
“He’s at least as interested in doing podcasts as in winning a defensive player of the year award. If you look hard at his productivity as a Cowboy, it ain’t the best defensive player in the National Football League… There’s no way he deserves to be the highest-paid defensive player in the history of the National Football League.”
Even though the fans are clamoring for Jones to finally get his act together and open up the checkbook, the lifelong Dallas fan in Bayless believes that a benchmark contract between Parsons and the Cowboys would be the “ultimate albatross” around the necks of both fanbase and the franchise itself. Given the team’s lack of playoff success in recent years, Bayless suggested that a contract of that magnitude would mean that, for better or worse, they are “stuck” with Parsons, much like they are with Dak Prescott.
“I feel stuck with that, just like I feel stuck with Dak’s contract. Twice Jerry made him the highest-paid player in pro football, twice, and he’s not that guy. You keep hoping he’ll live up to it in the postseason, but he doesn’t. He was dreadful in that debacle against Green Bay also.”
According to Bayless, two first-round picks should be “seriously” considered as ample payment for trading Parsons, as he also believes that the other pass rushers on the Cowboys’ roster “can bring it.” Suffice to say, “I like Micah, but I don’t love him.”
Even though his commentary may be going against the grain, as it typically does, Bayless does give us a pretty good indicator of what the mood is like in Texas today. Dating back to the Jimmy Johnson era, Jones’ ego has long been viewed as problematic.
While the ongoing Parsons’ saga is seemingly par for the course to some, Cowboys fans themselves have grown increasingly frustrated by their owner’s antics. While it remains to be seen whether or not Jones will actually let Parsons walk right out the front door, it’s clear that no matter what happens, those frustrations will still be there.
The 82-year-old is arguably the most polarizing franchise owner in all of sports, and while this matter may not have helped his public perception, it still helped his bottom line, as everyone across the nation is still talking about the Dallas Cowboys.
