“It would be nice to be surrounded by good players,” Parsons said. “Players are going to help you win championships. I want to keep as many guys as possible.”
DALLAS — Micah Parsons wants his next contract to reflect his prominence as an elite pass rusher — but says he won’t insist on becoming the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL, even if his performance merits it.
“I don’t need $40 million per year,” Parsons said in the locker room Thursday.
Parsons is prioritizing reaching a contract extension with the Cowboys in an expedient manner so the team can sign more of its upcoming free agents like Osa Odighizuwa, Chauncey Golston and others necessary to take advantage of the attention he demands from opponents.
“Oh man, understand that you know me, Chauncey and Osa, might have to separate, is devastating,” Parsons said. “Being here together for four years, building our relationship to where it’s been, obviously it’s devastating. But, you can’t help but root for all of them.
“You want to see everyone get paid and everyone get the maximum of their value,” Parsons added. “So, I’ve been talking about, I was like, “Bro, we got a couple games left to really show who we are.’ And I was like, ‘I’m trying to make you a lot of a lot of money, bro. Like, just, just tap in.’ We’ve all really been locked in. And I’ve been telling them where the sacks are, where the one-on-one opportunities are, because I want to see these guys have more success and do things. That’s what brotherhood is. And then we can vacation somewhere in the offseason after they get paid.”
“It would be nice to be surrounded by good players,” Parsons said. “Players are going to help you win championships. I want to keep as many guys as possible. … I want to work with them as much as possible.”
In addition to seeking less than his market value, Parsons is vowing to participate in more of the Cowboys offseason. He has typically trained apart from the team.
“It would just be nice to be surrounded by good players, you know?” Parsons said. “I mean, players thats going to help you win championships. I say that to me, you know, having, $40 million and being chipped every play and hit with two, with three, four people, I don’t think that sounds too fun to me. So, to me, it’s about people that can keep making a difference.”
The Cowboys suffered the consequences of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb missing training camp last year in a contract dispute. Jerry Jones failed to sign Dak Prescott to the richest contract in NFL history until a few hours before kickoff of their season-opener in Cleveland.
“I definitely think I need to be here in camp,” Parsons said. “Because obviously, when so much of the defense is surrounded by your play, your presence, and others getting lined up based off of you, I need to be here… We can rush together, build that chemistry. So I think it’s extremely important that I’m back at OTAs and, you know, mini Kevin, all those type of things. I mean, I can’t go up to Stephen and say, ‘hey, I want to get paid here.’ But, you know, our door is open.”
Parsons has finished in the top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting in all three of his previous NFL seasons. That seems unlikely this year as he missed four games with a high ankle sprain. But Parsons leads the Cowboys with 8.5 sacks, and his return has made them one of the best teams in the league in compiling sacks and creating takeaways.
Since returning from ankle injury in Week 10, Parsons ranks first in the NFL with 7.5 sacks, first in pressures with 33 and second with 13 quarterback hits.
Parsons also endorsed defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s return. They shared a dinner recently at a local steakhouse with Zimmer paying the bill.
“I don’t know what the coaching is going to be like. At some point, if I got to learn a new scheme. I would love to have (Mike) Zimmer back. … He has done a tremendous job. I would love to have him back. But if they do change or he just feels like he’s ready to go with the horses, I got to learn a new scheme. I got to be around guys. … There’s a chemistry part. … I still gotta be there for that part.”
And lastly, Parsons is pulling for the Eagles this week against Washington. The Cowboys need Washington to lose to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
“Nah, at this point, it’s f— Philly, now. Even if we got eliminated, like, I got to crush Philly. F— them. I hate them now. I be seeing them talk so much on social (media),” Parsons said.
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