Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys are dealing with the least dramatic bit of drama these days as superstars CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons were both absent from Tuesday’s OTA work. This is not a big deal but is objectively a deal if we can use that parlance. Not having two of your best players in the mix, seemingly due to dissatisfaction over their contractual statuses with a team, is less preferable than the alternative which would be for them to be present and accounted for.

We are still on the front side of Memorial Day so there is still plenty of time left for the Cowboys to take care of Lamb, Parsons and/or Dak Prescott if they so choose. But there is obviously less time left than when the offseason began back in January. The good news is that at least one of these players is set to return next week.

Micah Parsons is reportedly set to return to the Cowboys next week and will be present at minicamp

The thing about every bit of work for the Cowboys to this point is that it has all been on a voluntary basis. Participation is certainly encouraged, but punishment cannot exactly be administered for those that miss.

That changes in early June when the team holds their mandatory minicamp. Not showing up to that is a much more distinct line in the sand and whether or not Lamb draws it remains to be seen, but it appears that Parsons will not. According to NFL Network’s Jane Slater, he is set to return to the team as soon as next week.

Slater mentions here that Parsons will show up for media obligations next week and specified that it is the pre-taping and picture-taking that is utilized across the whole of the season. We are talking about headshots, intros for Sunday Night Football (where they say their name and school), that sort of thing.

Near the end of the clip Slater mentioned that she would not be surprised if the Parsons extension does not come to fruition this year which is certainly a choice to say the least. When it comes to superstar players (which Parsons is) who play the money positions in the NFL (which Parsons does), history shows that coming to terms on a long-term deal sooner rather than later is the much better option. But, I mean, look around.

The Cowboys have a permanent residence in the Eleventh Hour Beach House so this is sort of par for the course for them which takes us back to the CeeDee Lamb situation, one Slater also touched on.

She referenced Jerry Jones’ comment about waiting to see leaves fall that he made in the lead up to the NFL Draft and how Lamb’s representation is also waiting things out to see how the market ultimately looks given that Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase are both posturing for new deals with their respective teams as well. It takes two to tango as people often say.

As far as why Lamb could get a deal done (Slater mentioned she does think it happens before training camp) and Parsons might not, it all goes back to the team’s preference to wait. Lamb was a first-round draft pick a year before Parsons and is currently set to enter the final year of his rookie contract where the team has two more years left of team control over Parsons before things get dicier. Again, par for this course.