The contract extension standoff between the Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons remains at a standstill, with the player requesting a trade last week after he posted a letter on social media sharing his thoughts on the situation. However, the Cowboys aren’t buying what he wrote.
If Dallas are calling Parsons' trade request a bluff, then NBC Sports' Chris Simms believes that the pass rusher will need to stop taking the high road to ensure that the organization takes his remarks that he wants out seriously.
“He might have to go a little scorched earth here at some point," Simms told Mike Florio on Tuesday's edition of Pro Football Talk. "Start having a press conference like Jerry [Jones]. Start talking to them. Let them know your thoughts. Let them know. Put a face—put your words—right there on camera so everybody can see it.
"It's distracting your life; you might have to get to the point where you distract their life too, finally, and go, ‘Okay, this is what we're going to play, this is what we got to do. Fine. So be it.’ Because he continues to take the high road while the team continues to take the low road, and yet he's going to get pigeonholed here into looking like the bad guy—and I don't love that."
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Last weekend, Jones spoke to the media and dismissed Parsons' trade request, noting that it's part of the negotiations. As a result, those remarks are why Simms wants the 26-year-old to cause a stir so that the Cowboys see he's not bluffing and has no desire to remain in Dallas.
"I enjoy Micah," Jones said when reacting to Parsons' trade request (h/t ESPN). "But as always in any relationships there's different moods at different times of your relationship. That's what it is. Don't lose any sleep over it. That's the one thing I would say to our fans, 'Don't lose any sleep over it.'"
It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out. Will Parsons stick to his trade request stance, or is Jones right to call his bluff? With Week 1 approaching, there will be a slightly clearer picture of where the two sides stand and whether one party gives in.