Jerry Jones is at it again.
The Cowboys owner and G.M. has a history of trying to negotiate directly with players. Last year, his habit helped contribute to the collapse of his relationship with linebacker Micah Parsons.
This year, Jerry is trying to get franchise-tagged receiver George Pickens to go it alone.
Coincidentally, or not, Pickens and Parsons are represented by the same agent — David Mulugheta of Athletes First.
Said Jones on Tuesday, via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, regarding Pickens: “If he worked without an agent, he’d save a lot of money . . . with me.”
Pickens surely won’t be falling for that one. Jerry knows that it’s easier to squeeze someone who doesn’t negotiate contracts for a living into doing a bad deal. And even if Pickens wouldn’t have to pay Mulugheta’s fee, Mulugheta will get enough to more than justify his cut.
Look at what Parsons ultimately secured from the Packers: $46.5 million per year. Does anyone think the Cowboys ever would have paid him that much? Jones seemed to be intent on kicking the can through the fifth year of Parsons’s contract (at less than $25 million) before perhaps playing the franchise-tag game for a year or maybe two.
Instead, Parsons got $120 million fully guaranteed over the first three years of his contract with the Packers.
To date, the NFL Players Association has not taken action against Jones’s efforts to undermine the relationships between his players and their agents. Jones does it in part because the fine, under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, is minimal. And Jones has made it clear that he’ll happily pay those fines.
Of course he will. If/when he manages to get a player to do a deal without the help of an agent, Jerry would save enough money to pay that fine hundreds of times over.
Maybe that’s something the NFLPA should look to change in the next CBA. With Jones apparently the only owner inclined to circumvent NFLPA-certified agents, there would be little pushback from the league at large to adding a zero or two to the fine for doing so.
It isn’t an overstatement to say the Packers’ promising season ended with Micah Parsons’ torn ACL after 40 defensive snaps into the Week 15 game against the Broncos. The Packers lost that game and their next four games, including a wild-card playoff loss to the Bears to end their season.
Parsons, 26, has rehabbed in Dallas since Dr. Neal ElAttrache repaired Parsons’ torn ligament on Dec. 30.
The Packers recently sent head athletic trainer Nate Weir to Texas to check in on Parsons’ rehab.
“Everything’s good,” General Manager Brian Gutekunst said Monday at the NFL owners meetings, via video from Ryan Wood of USA Today. “We had our trainers down there with him not too long ago and came back with really good. It’s daily communication. He’s an exceptional athlete, and we’re hoping that takes over here pretty quick and the healing process goes fast.”
Gutekunst would not put a timeline on Parsons’ return.
“No, we’re really early in this,” Gutekunst said. “Obviously, we invested quite a bit in him, so we will be very protective of that investment as we go forward.”
Parsons proved worth the investment the Packers made in trading with the Cowboys for him and with the contract they gave him. He had 12.5 sacks and 79 pressures in 14 games, earning first-team All-Pro honors for a third time.
The Raiders wanted two first-round picks and a player for defensive end Maxx Crosby. They ultimately settled for a pair of first-round picks from the Ravens.
The Cowboys apparently tried to land Crosby with a reduced offer of their own.
Via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Dallas was willing to send a first-round pick in 2026 (12th overall), a future second-round pick, and a veteran player to Las Vegas.
The notion that the Cowboys tried to make a big swing for a pass rusher contradicts the “stop the run” excuse-making from owner/G.M. Jerry Jones, after he cried “uncle” at the end of the multi-month standoff with Micah Parsons. But Jones surely was intrigued by the possibility of getting Crosby’s remaining four contract years, at an average payout of $29 million per year. (And Jones undoubtedly believed he could talk Crosby into not expecting an adjustment to a deal that has been leapfrogged by other players — and by $10 million per year after Parsons signed with the Packers.)
The Cowboys have worked hard to convince themselves, and everyone else, that they won the Parsons trade. The mere fact that they made a play for Crosby is a concession that they need a high-end, veteran pass rusher after losing the chess match that played out throughout the 2025 offseason, the entirety of training camp, and most of the preseason.
Every team would benefit from a high-end veteran pass rusher. After quarterback, a player who can affect the quarterback is the most important position in football, one that transcends the stat sheet because it forces an offense to always know where that player is and to divert other players to slowing him down.
It also accelerates the clock in the quarterback’s head, prompting him to possibly make bad decisions before the walls cave in.
Last year, the Cowboys made a bad decision to negotiate directly with Parsons, to take the position that he verbally agreed to a deal, to refuse to engage with his agent, and eventually to not pay one of the best players in all of football. The fact that they were willing to give up nearly as much as they got for Parsons proves it.
Micah Parsons’ relationship with the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones came to a bitter and disappointing end when the team traded him to Green Bay last August. While the edge rusher said he has nothing to be mad about since he “went to another historic organization” that paid him “a historic amount,” Parsons does regret that contract negotiations became personal.
“I just wish some of those things never happened. You know what I mean?,” Parsons told Clarence Hill of All City DLLS Cowboys. “I wish that he never brought me into the office and just let the agent speak. And I wish he hadn’t compromised our relationship. I thought me and Jerry had a good relationship up to that point until this offseason, and it’s sad that it went to shit like that.”
Parsons’ relationship with Jones will never be the same, although Parsons claims he holds no animosity toward his former owner.
“I don’t know about Jerry, but I have no bad blood,” Parsons said. “If I saw Jerry today, I would shake hands with him and say thank you for the opportunity I had to be a Cowboy.”
While Parsons may have forgiven, he has not forgotten.
Jones thought they had a handshake deal on “term, amount, guarantees,” without Parsons’ agent present. Parsons eventually directed the Cowboys to deal directly with his agent, David Mulugheta. Parsons said that March 18 meeting was the last time he talked to Jones.
Parsons and Jones have feuded publicly since, with Jones insisting the Cowboys won the Aug. 28 trade.
“There’s only two people who know the real truth — me and Jerry Jones,” Parsons said. “I’m not mad or anything. I went to another historic organization. I got paid a historic amount. So I got really nothing to be mad about in this world.”
Parsons spent four seasons in Dallas and made four Pro Bowls and 52.5 sacks.
Despite Saturday’s loss to the Bears, it looks like the Packers are still likely to retain head coach Matt LaFleur.
That will be good news to edge rusher Micah Parsons, who offered a strong endorsement of LaFleur when speaking to reporters during Green Bay’s locker room cleanout on Monday.
“I’ve had my fair share of coaches and people around this league that I’ve been around, and Matt is one of the best guys — and people, as a person — I’ve been around since I’ve been in this league,” Parsons said Monday, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “I reached out to him when I started seeing this [stuff about a coaching change] and I said, man, when I agreed to come here, you were part of the reason why I came here. I want you [to be] a part of this, and I love you, and I think you’re a great coach. He appreciated those words and we had a brief conversation.
“But Matt, I think he’s a great guy. And I just think he cares so much — he cares so much about the players. I don’t think people realize that. And you can get spoiled with good coaching and good people, and you don’t realize until they’re going. And I don’t want to be at that point where we realize like, damn, we let such a great coach go.”
Furthermore, while Parsons wasn’t playing in the wild card loss to the Bears due to his torn ACL, the edge rusher said players have to take accountability for the outcome.
“[Y]ou talk about do your job, right? You talk about coach, I mean this team put up … 27 points? In a playoff game, I’ve always told you, if my team puts up 21 points, we should win that game,” Parsons said. “We put up 27 points and we missed six, seven on special teams. That’s 34 points, and you’re talking about you want to get rid of a coach.
“At one point, players have to have accountability. And that’s something that I’m challenging us as players that we need to take. We need to have accountability. How do we let that game go? Like, coaching can only do so much. It’s about timeouts and Xs and Os — great. Sometimes, it’s about playing football at the same time.”
While the Packers are reportedly trying to work out a deal, there’s no guarantee those talks won’t break down. We’ll see if LaFleur will get another shot with Green Bay in 2026 or if Parsons will have to get used to another head coach.
Micah Parsons is targeting a return to play early in the 2026 season, though he admits it’s unlikely to be Week 1.
Having suffered his ACL tear in mid-December, Parsons told reporters on Monday that he’s more likely to be playing in Week 3 or Week 4, which means he’s not trying to start the season on the physically unable to perform list. That would keep him out for at least the first four games.
“I think so far, they say I’m flying [through rehab] — so whatever that means,” Parsons said, via Matt Schneidmann of TheAthletic.com. “But there’s a timing standpoint they want. But I don’t think I’ll be on [PUP], I’ll say that, to start the season. I think lofty, I’d be saying Week 1. But realistically, probably like Week 3, Week 4. Just to make sure and just getting back into football, practicing hard, getting ready to sustain, take my body through what I go through. So, I think it’s just more that.”
Parsons added that he’ll have to get pretty comfortable in practice before he’s able to get back on the field so that he can play as he’s used to playing.
Despite playing 14 games with 13 starts, Parsons was named a first-team AP All-Pro for 2025. He finished the 2025 season with 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 26 quarterback hits while also registering a pair of forced fumbles and one pass defense.
After Thursday’s comments from Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus caught the eye of former Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, Parsons defended his reaction to Eberflus linking the team’s defensive performance to the sudden departure of Parsons via late August trade.
“Y’all want me to feel bad?” Parsons posted on Twitter. “Jerry Jones slandered my name to Cowboys media and national media for months. So I do think I can react to comment if I want to!”
In his usual Friday appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Jones addressed Parsons’s remarks.
“I wish Micah the very best,” Jones said, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “I’d love to have Micah on the team. But we just couldn’t afford him. We wanted four or five players more than we did him. But he’s outstanding. I understand his sensitivity and can even understand these comments.”
They say business isn’t personal. But the Parsons business became personal, once Parsons refused to reduce to writing the deal he supposedly agreed to in direct conversations with Jones. In turn, Jones refused to negotiate with Parsons’s agent, David Mulugheta.
The Cowboys, in our view, had banked on Parsons playing under his fifth-year option, kicking the can to 2026 for a possible franchise-tag dance. When it became clear that Parsons would refuse to practice or play due to a back injury, the Cowboys decided to get what they could for Parsons, in lieu of paying him a market-level deal that would have been much more expensive than the fifth-year option now and the franchise tag later.
Along the way, things were said. Feathers were ruffled. That’s how Jones, first, tried to get what he wanted and, second, played the P.R. game when it became clear that the only move was to move on from Parsons.
More than two months after the trade happened, Jones took a clear shot at Parsons while praising former Cowboys Michael Irvin and DeMarcus Ware.
“Not one time, not even in the hottest of days and two-a-days in August in Texas, between eleven in the morning or when they quit practicing or four in the afternoon, did I never see any one of these two go over and lay on a damn training table in front of a million people,” Jones said. “Never. It’s not in their makeup. . . . It’s just not in their makeup. . .
“And you’d like to think if you’re going to be [paying] the highest that’s ever been paid for something in football, you could get that. And when you don’t have it and you pay the highest that’s ever been in football, you really got a problem.”
Jones was still trying to justify trading Parsons. And, yes, that included slandering his name by suggesting that Parsons isn’t worthy to be the highest-paid defensive player in football, tying it to the fact that he was taking a stand to get the contract Jones refused to give him.
For Parsons, it’s understandably personal. For Jones, it’s all business. And his business interests required him to make it personal with Parsons. Which explains why Jones isn’t bothered by Parsons’s natural reaction to Jerry’s tactics.
Still, the message to other players should be obvious. Starting with receiver George Pickens.
If you don’t do what Jerry wants you to do, he’ll eventually slander your name, too.
Sunday may be Matt Eberflus’ last game as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator and his press conference on Thursday focused on what went wrong on that side of the ball this season.
Eberflus said that “ownership and accountability is right with me” for a season that’s seen the Cowboys allow the most points in the league while ranking near the bottom of the league in most key defensive metrics. The group Eberflus had to work with was shaken up shortly before the season when Micah Parsons was traded to the Packers and Eberflus was asked how much that changed things for the team.
“I don’t know if it changed that much,” Eberflus said. “Obviously you have an All-Pro pass rusher that wins really quick, that’s certainly going to help any defense if it’s Micah or if it’s Myles [Garrett] or whoever it might be. That impact player is always going to help to a certain degree on pass downs and other downs. Again, you can’t look back. It is what it is and you just focus on where you are.”
A tweet featuring those comments caught Parsons’ eye on Thursday and it’s hard to argue that the move impacted the way the defense performed over the course of the season. It’s also hard to argue that looking back on what could have been is of little value to Eberflus or the Cowboys based on how things have actually played out.
Next year’s defensive coordinator won’t have the Parsons issue hanging over their head and they’ll need to do a better job with any pieces on hand in order for the Cowboys to make it back to the postseason.
Packers defensive end Micah Parsons will be having surgery on his torn ACL on Monday.
Parsons posted a snapshot of himself in a hospital gown to his Instagram story on Monday morning with the caption “see y’all soon, love y’all.” He tore his ACL in the team’s Week 15 loss to the Broncos.
The Packers have also lost their last two games and have struggled defensively without the help of Parsons coming off the edge of the defensive line. That will make his full recovery an important part of the team’s offseason.
Surgery is a significant first step, but that rehab process is expected to run into the summer and it will be some time before there’s a concrete timeline for Parsons’ return to full football activities.
We have three weeks remaining in the NFL’s regular season and it’s really starting to heat up! The Chiefs have been eliminated from the playoffs, the Steelers are in first place of the AFC North, Seattle stole the No. 1 seed in the NFC from Los Angeles on Thursday Night Football, and that’s just a small sliver of the action. Here are my five best bets for the Week 16 slate.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & team props for every matchup this week on the NFL schedule!
Packers at Bears (-1.5): O/U 46.5
The Packers are beat up and that’s bad news going to Chicago on Saturday night to take on a Bears team that wants revenge from two weeks ago. Chicago had a chance to win the first meeting, but soiled it in the final moments with an interception, but nonetheless, it was neck-and-neck.
The second meeting should be more of the same, but in Chicago’s favor. Green Bay’s defense has performed differently on the road with 2.60 points per drive allowed (27th) versus 1.59 per drive at home (7th). That should be a problem versus a Chicago team that is top five in a lot of advanced rushing metrics lately, including success rate, which they rank first in since Week 5.
Multiple lineman and receivers could miss for Green Bay, plus Micah Parsons on defense. Chicago isn’t healthy at wide receiver, but it hasn’t mattemicar lately with their stellar offensive line play and no Parsons on the other side. I like Chicago on the ML at -125 odds.
Pick: Bears ML (1.5 units)
Josh Allen O/U 0.5 Interceptions vs Browns
With Matthew Stafford and the Rams losing, plus the Patriots being road underdogs in Baltimore this weekend, Josh Allen has a real chance at stealing this award, and luckily, he faces the Browns this week. All he has to do is be himself and not try to do too much as the Bills are -10.5 point favorites.
Cleveland has one interception in the last four games, and it came against Cam Ward. Allen will have a clean sheet here and go under his juiced interceptions line (-154). While Allen’s 10 interceptions on the year aren’t ideal, six of them came during a four-game stretch and he’s had zero in the past two games along with seven total touchdowns.
Pick: Josh Allen Under 0.5 Interceptions (Risk 2 units)
Travis Etienne O/U 60.5 Rushing Yards vs Broncos
The Jaguars go to the Mile High City to take on the Broncos, and that presents challenges for Travis Etienne. Not only is Denver 11th in EPA per rush, but they also have the best third-down defense and elite pressure rates. Etienne played 65.5% of snaps versus the Jets last week, his fourth-highest of the season, and 75.4% the week prior against the Colts, but both were in run-heavy spots. This is not that.
Besides, Jacksonville’s passing game has really taken off since the bye week, especially downfield with splash plays. The Jaguars will need the passing game from the start if they want to beat Denver. Not rely on the ground and pound game with Etienne. Go Under his 60.5 rushing yards (-114) in Denver down to 56.5. He is 7-7 on the season to this number.
Pick: Travis Etienne Under 60.5 Rushing Yards (1 unit)
David Montgomery Anytime TD vs Steelers
David Montgomery is a on season-long three-game touchdown streak as he’s reached the end zone against the Packers, Cowboys, and Rams in that stretch. Now, Montgomery takes on a Steelers defense coming off two straight wins and a dominant showing against Miami.
With a game total of 52.5, the highest of the week, and a team total of 30.5, also the largest, I think Montgomery’s odds should be heavier than -105. Six of the last eight teams have recorded a rushing touchdown against the Steelers, so I will take a swing on the Lions complimentary back to find the end zone for a fourth-straight game. He and Jaymyr Gibbs could both score like the good old days for Detroit.
Pick: David Montgomery Anytime TD (1 unit)
Philip Rivers O/U 0.5 Passing Touchdowns vs 49ers
Philip Rivers almost pulled the rabbit out of a hand in a two-point loss versus Seattle, but his defense let him down. Rivers tossed 120 yards on 18-of-27 and had one touchdown and one interception. His passing yards prop has raised from 151.5 to 157.5, which draws a little pause for me, but I think there is value on Rivers to not throw a touchdown.
I bet Rivers to go Under 0.5 passing touchdowns last week and he had one red zone throw — an eight-yard touchdown. Go figure, right? Well, at +168 odds, I will absolutely run it back and take another shot on Rivers to go Under 0.5 touchdowns.
Pick: Philip Rivers Under 0.5 Touchdowns (1 unit)
Season Record: 114-84-1 (58%) +22.36 units | 9.49 ROI%
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