Myles Garrett: Micah Parsons ‘should get every penny he’s owed’ – Kevin Patra, NFL.com

Game respect game when it comes to two of the best edge rushers in the NFL.

While the club has dragged its feet, if previous deals are an indicator, Dallas will eventually pay Parsons top dollar before the season starts. The question lingering is how high the number might reach.

Myles Garrett set the bar for pass rushers with his $40 million-per-year contract earlier this offseason. After throwing out the first pitch at a Texas Rangers game on Sunday, Garrett said Parsons deserves his eventual payday.

“I think he deserves whatever he’s earned,” Garrett told Abby Jones of DLLS Sports. “I mean, the guy is special. Once I got the chance to train with him, I’ve seen his work ethic, I’ve seen how he attacks the weights, running. He’s 100% committed to his craft and getting better every day, and [he’s] someone who produces on the field and has that dedication to the game. He should get every penny he’s owed.”

Parsons is slated to earn $24.007 million in base salary on the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. That figure is expected to leap significantly with a new extension. Parsons could leapfrog Garrett as the top-paid defender. With fellow star pass rusher T.J. Watt also looking for a new deal, the top of the market could get pushed even higher if the Cowboys continue to delay paying Parsons.

Last week, Parsons was hopeful that a deal could be finalized by training camp.

“I’m pretty hopeful. I’m still hanging tight,” Parsons said at the time. “I understand it’s up to [owner Jerry Jones]. He gives the green light on everything, so hopefully something is done by next month.”

Parsons had previously said he didn’t need to make $40 million per year. However, that came before Garrett’s record-setting deal.

Just like every time in the past, the Cowboys are only costing themselves by waiting to pay Micah Parsons.

1. Micah Parsons becomes the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history

This is the easiest one, isn’t it? Sure the Parsons negotiations are getting dramatic lately but let’s be honest: This is how the Cowboys do business.

They did it with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb last year. I find it exhausting but part of that is that I know the ending to the movie. The final scene of this one will be Parsons smiling wide and putting ink to paper.

My prediction for the numbers: 5-year deal, $210 million, $42 million average per year.

There was a lot of buzz about what Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus is doing with this defense out of OTAs and minicamp.

The Dallas Cowboys defense in 2025 isn’t just looking for improvement—it’s looking for a total transformation. After finishing near the bottom of the league in most key defensive categories in 2024, the team parted ways with coordinator Mike Zimmer and brought in Matt Eberflus.

Known for building disciplined and aggressive units in Indianapolis and Chicago, Eberflus will bring the same mindset to Dallas.

With a new scheme, fresh faces, and returning talent like Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland, the Cowboys are betting on a defensive reset.

Here’s a full breakdown of the roster, key additions, stats from last season, and projected impact in 2025.

Eberflus Brings Discipline to Chaos

The hiring of Matt Eberflus is more than cosmetic. His defensive philosophy focuses on:

Speed and pursuit angles

Attacking defensive front

Turnover generation through rally tackling

Mixes of zone and man to disguise coverages

The 2025 defense will emphasize swarming the football and limiting explosive plays, something Dallas failed to do consistently last year.

The Cowboys may add at CB between now and training camp, and looking to the UFL has helped them before.

If we weren’t worried about medical issues, things would feel a lot better at corner. You’d have Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland as returning starters, Shavon Revel as an exciting rookie addition, Israel Mukuamu as veteran depth, and several intriguing young prospects like Caelen Carson, Kairr Elam, Josh Butler, and Andrew Booth. Even undrafted rookie Alijah Clark is starting to garner support and praise during spring practices.

Unfortunately, medical concerns are at work with much of the group. Diggs is highly questionable to be ready for Week 1 as he continues to work on knee issues. Butler is still recovering from a torn ACL in Week 13, putting part if not all of 2025 in jeopardy. Revel fell to the third round because of a 2024 knee injury, which will slow his development and availability as a rookie. Plus, Bland and Carson, while healed up from previous issues, still have to prove they’re all the way back in their performance. And we haven’t even gotten to whatever injuries are sure to come during training camp and preseason games.

So yes, Dallas needs bodies to get through the summer. But Ajene Harris could potentially more than that. The 29-year-old veteran just led the UFL in interceptions this spring, two years after leading the XFL in picks in 2023. He’s been a consistent standout in these spring leagues for several years as a playmaker and willing tackler. He’s on the smaller side at just 5’10” and 180 lbs. but could be competitive among Dallas CB options, particularly in the much-needed role of slot corner.

Losing Jourdan Lewis to free agency this offseason, the Cowboys could use some more options in the slot. While Bland started his career there and is an excellent option, he may be needed more outside this year.

Tyler Booker understands the standard of offensive line play in Dallas, and was drafted to uphold it.

“The more you know football,” the just-turned-21-year-old said this week, “the slower the game becomes.”

Booker is getting crash-course tutoring these days from his offensive linemates in Dallas.

“I couldn’t ask for a better room of vets,” he explained. “We’re a younger room, but there’s still a lot of experience within there.”

That part is debatable. The presumed starting five all obviously have more playing time under their belts than Booker, but the overall youth clearly stands out.

Undrafted right tackle Terence Steele is 28 years old and suddenly the group’s elder statesman, with 74 career starts. Tyler Smith, Tyler Guyton, and Cooper Beebe are all 24 and have 47, 11, and 16 starts, respectively.

Put another way, the front five’s combined 148 starts (to date) are still shy of the just-retired Zack Martin’s 162.

The Cowboys O-line is indeed a young bunch, and they’re still very much figuring out how they’ll gel. Booker may be the fresh-faced rookie, but he’s making sure he’s not the weak link.

“We’re building great chemistry,” he said. “If I ever have a question right before the snap, they’re able to help me out and lead me in the right direction. But I’m trying to make sure that that doesn’t become a habit. I’m very prideful in knowing the offense, and I want to make sure I’m not holding this room back by any means.”

All aboard the Scotty express.

For the first time in the Dak Prescott era, the Dallas Cowboys are not expected to make the playoffs. Most sportsbooks have the Cowboys’ win total set at 7.5, with a few moving that number up to 8.5 over the last months. After finishing 7-10 during the 2024 season, most national experts believe Dallas could be one of the league’s worst teams this year.

The expectations are low for the Cowboys, and there are some valid reasons, including a first-time head coach and several major injuries on defense to star players (Trevon Diggs, DeMarvion Overshown). The lack of a star running back and a young offensive line could all be reasons why they fail to make it back to the postseason this year.

However, there are still a lot of reasons to be excited about this team going into 2025. The main reason is that Dak Prescott is healthy again, and the addition of George Pickens could give Dallas one of the league’s best passing attacks.

In a recent article by Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus, he explained why the Cowboys are one of the most overlooked teams this season, pointing to the passing game as a reason for optimism.

The Cowboys are being slept on ahead of the 2025 NFL season

“The primary issue for the Cowboys’ passing game is that there wasn’t a legitimate complementary receiving threat to CeeDee Lamb. They may have solved that problem recently by acquiring former Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens was one of five qualified receivers who posted a perfect 99.9 deep PFF receiving grade last season. That makes him a perfect pairing with Lamb’s ability to create explosive plays underneath.”

Dalton Wasserman, Pro Football Focus

While it’s fair to say that Prescott isn’t Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, or Joe Burrow, it’s hard to deny that the Cowboys have always been an elite offense with him under center. That’s been the case for most of his career, and now that he has an adequate number of weapons in the passing game, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if this were one of the league’s highest-scoring units during the 2025 season.