If the Cowboys can't turn things around, a trade for Parsons should be considered

We're going to break the fourth wall here; something rarely done in the professional sporting arena of the writing world. Blogging has transformed over the past decade, adopting many of the rules and regulations of journalism as the endeavor has evolved. I'm going to butt into an article, breaking the rule of never using a first-person perspective.

I didn't think ID ever be the one to say those words. Even with a lot of caveats and qualifications in the preface, it still feels weird to say this. I I think if things continue like this over the next six weeks, the Dallas Cowboys front office will have to consider trading star pass rusher Micah Parsons.

Reservation No. 1: Micah Parsons' comments after the debacle were exactly the words you need to hear from his team's star defenseman. He directly answered questions about body language, confidence and what he sees as a problem.

Foreword No. 1: The potential The idea of ​​a trade is by no means an assertion that Parsons is not a top defender in the NFL. I am convinced that he is worth absolutely everything he gets for it.

Foreword No. 2: Again, “If things continue like this next month“It just feels like this needs to be repeated.

Before a 19-point fourth-quarter rally, Sunday's loss to the Baltimore Ravens was on its way to their second consecutive crushing home loss in which the defense could do absolutely nothing to stop the opponent from doing what they wanted, when they wanted.

Dallas has now allowed 464 rushing yards in the last two meetings, in games in which the starting quarterbacks completed 11 of 12 (before four late incomplete passes) and 12 of 15 passes.

Mike Zimmer's defense is uncompetitive and eerily reminiscent of Mike Nolan's 2020 season. Zimmer took over from Dan Quinn and is known as a strict taskmaster, which is in direct contrast to Quinn's loving father-figure approach.

Reservation No. 2: Zimmer runs a system that has a reputation for being difficult to learn its intricacies.

Still, Parsons has missed the offseason buildup and hasn't been the generational defenseman fans are used to seeing. Normally, Parsons is a strong starter of the season, but one wonders if he and his teammates would have had more of the confidence he withheld from them in his poignant postgame locker room conversation had he participated in the voluntary aspects.

Micah raised an important point after last night's loss.

The defenders behind him have to trust that he will take care of his tasks and carry out theirs.

If only the team had more time in the spring to work on such activities in a voluntary and organized manner…

— KD Drummond (@KDDrummondNFL) 23 September 2024

I have little doubt that it will work eventually, but if that's still not enough, what comes next?

Dallas has already paid three of its stars, signing CB Trevon Diggs to a massive contract extension for 2023 and QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb last month. Parsons will clearly be the highest-paid non-QB when he signs his contract extension, and that is expected to happen in the offseason.

It's not about paying four different players top salaries; the San Francisco 49ers do that too. It's about paying four stars who play the most expensive positions in football top salaries: quarterback, wide receiver, edge rusher, cornerback and tackle are the highest-lineage positions. The 49ers pay Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle, running back and tight end are lower-lineage positions, along with WR Brandon Aiyuk and edge Nick Bosa.

The Cowboys can, of course, fit a Parsons extension under the salary cap. There are far too many ways to get around the accounting rules of the salary cap for Stephen Jones' “pie slices” metaphor to really hold water. But if the results don't materialize, the idea of ​​paying everyone is a questionable proposition.

Trading Parsons could be viewed similarly to the Washington Nationals trading Juan Soto with over two years of eligibility remaining. An organization is reluctant to part with a generational talent, but when you get a ton of potential in return and the reward for keeping the player is still mediocre, it's worth considering.

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The transfer of superstar defenders is not uncommon in the NFL. The Cowboys themselves signed Charles Haley from the San Francisco 49ers in 1992 in exchange for second- and third-round picks.

Recently, the Denver Broncos received the same amount from the Los Angeles Rams for Von Miller. The then-Oakland Raiders traded star pass rusher Khalil Mack along with a future second-round pick to Chicago for two first-round picks from the Bears and a future third-round pick. Jacksonville also sent Jalen Ramsey to the Rams for two first-round picks. Darrel Revis, Richad Seymour and Champ Bailey are all star defensive backs who were cast aside by their original teams.

It's not hard to imagine a team sending Dallas a first- and second-round pick in the 2025 draft, as well as a first-round pick in 2026, to get Parsons for the playoffs.

The trading closes on November 5th.

Dallas has five more games and a week off before that happens, and it will be clear by then whether the Cowboys have a chance to be truly competitive or if the club is on track to cut the coaching staff and start over in 2025.

The Cowboys will likely have around $85 million in salary cap space next offseason once they pull the restructuring levers on Prescott and Lamb's new contracts. If everything continues as it is, they will have a top-15 draft pick or even more.

The pass rush would be worse without Parsons, but if the Cowboys had additional premium picks, many other positions could be improved through wholesale labor costs (rookie contracts), and they could find pass rush reinforcements on the open market at a lower cost than a Parsons contract extension.

If we are honest, this is not a ridiculous school of thought.