Cowboys Head Coach Makes Decision On Micah Parsons After Friday Antics

We’ve heard endless back-and-forth between Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about the ongoing contract dispute. But after Parsons’ now-infamous behavior during yesterday’s preseason game, the head coach is weighing in a bit.

During the game against the Atlanta Falcons, Parsons was spotted on the Cowboys sideline in street clothes, laying around on a training table.

According to ESPN Cowboys insider Todd Archer, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced in a press conference today that he would be meeting with Parsons on Sunday to have a heart-to-heart on his situation. He said that the team would be handling its response to Parsons’ contract situation internally.

“Without talking to Micah, I need to figure out what he was doing and why he was doing it,” Schottenheimer said. “So, until I talk to him, I’m obviously not going to talk about it.”

Micah Parsons’ “injury situation”

Parsons isn’t technically holding out from Cowboys training camp as doing so would result in thousands and potentially millions in ongoing fines under the terms of his contract and the Collective Bargaining Agreement. He’s stated that he can’t play or even practice due to “back tightness” which has been dating back to June (which was also right around the time tensions with the team started escalating).

But in the conference call, Schottenheimer announced that Parsons underwent an MRI which he says came back “pretty clean.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t seem concerned by the injury either and has openly stated that he considers it part of Parsons’ negotiating tactics.

Schottenheimer has remained a paragon of optimism in Dallas as far as the situation goes. He reiterated his belief that Parsons will be a part of the Cowboys’ Week 1 lineup when they take on the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

“I think [defensive end] is an area that we’re pretty deep,” Schottenheimer said.

Cowboys Head Coach Makes Decision On Micah Parsons After Friday Antics — Aug 16, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons (11) reacts after the game against the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium.

Other injuries

Micah Parsons isn’t the only player raising availability concerns with Dallas’ season opener less than 14 days away. Star cornerback Trevon Diggs and starting offensive lineman Tyler Guyton are injured as well and have not been practicing.

Of Diggs, Schottenheimer was once again optimistic, praising Diggs for putting in the work on his rehab from last season’s knee injury and expects him to avoid starting the season on the PUP list.

“These things don’t happen if he’s not putting in the time and the effort to do that stuff that he’s been doing,” Schottenheimer said. “Really proud of him… Anytime you’ve got guys who have missed some time, there’s a ramp-up, there’s a buildup period. We’ve got some time [to] see how his conditioning is, see how he moves around as we get going in practices, hopefully this week.”

Schottenheimer said that Guyton is “trending in the right direction” and hopes to have him “out on the grass” before the season starts.

“We’ll find out a little more [Sunday],” Schottenheimer said. “He’ll be a bit like with Trevon, trending in the right direction. Hopefully, we’ll get him to do something out on the grass as early as this week.”

The Cowboys face the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on September 4.

This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.