Cowboys HC Expects Micah Parsons to Attend Voluntary Minicamp amid Contract Rumors

The Dallas Cowboys are planning for edge-rusher Micah Parsons to attend their voluntary workouts as he approaches the final year of his rookie contract.

"Hey, look at the end of the day this is a business and when you're dealing with the money that's being tossed around, not just with Micah but with the big-name players, negotiations sometimes take time," head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters at the NFL's league meeting.

"I feel very comfortable. Micah said he's going to be around. I think that he wants to be. I think we're all very comfortable with that. And at the end of the day he's a great player and we think he's just getting started, to be honest with you. I have no question in my mind that he'll be around."

The current collective bargaining agreement makes it cost-prohibitive for a player to stage a contract holdout that extends into training camp. They can, however, make a point by sitting out team activities early in the offseason.

Last year, Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb went a step further by making himself scarce through the preseason. He and the team didn't make a contract breakthrough late August.

With that in mind, Parsons' contract will remain a subplot surrounding Dallas in the months leading up to the regular season.

Executive vice president Stephen Jones said Sunday the Cowboys have "had good visits with him and feel good about where we're headed."

Parsons is coming off his worst season statistically in the NFL. He finished with 43 combined tackles and 12 sacks. An ankle injury also sidelined him for four weeks.

Still, the four-time Pro Bowler can potentially reset the market with his next deal. Spotrac values him at $36.7 million annually and it only takes a few more million to edge him past Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett ($40 million) as the highest-paid edge-rusher.

An extension of this magnitude will require a lot of deliberation. For the Cowboys, the situation is complicated by the money they've already committed to Lamb $136 million total, $67 million guaranteed) and quarterback Dak Prescott ($240 million total, $129 million guaranteed).

Nobody will be surprised if the saga drags on into the summer, and it will be an even bigger story if Parsons is nowhere to be found.