Cowboys Pick Up Fifth-Year Option on Micah Parsons As Defensive End

The Dallas Cowboys have picked up the fifth-year option on star Micah Parsons - but not as a linebacker

The Dallas Cowboys have much free-agent business to attend to this offseason. But first, they are taking care of one of their own. 

According to multiple reports, the Cowboys have picked up the fifth-year option on star linebacker and edge rusher Micah Parsons. 

However, in an interesting move, they have done with Parsons as a defensive end - not as a linebacker. 

Dec 24, 2023; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) looks on against the Miami Dolphins during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium / Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Parsons, of course, is a jack of all trades for the Cowboys' defense, lining up at multiple positions throughout games. That said, he excels most as an edge rusher, where he has accumulated 40.5 sacks in his three-year career, including a career-best 14 last season. 

Stephen Jones had hinted at a Parsons move coming earlier this week - as well as something with star receiver CeeDee Lamb, and MVP runner-up quarterback Dak Prescott. 

“Obviously, between Dak and between Micah and CeeDee, the salary cap is real for us with those three guys," Jones said, "We want to do a deal with all three of them."

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And deal with one they did, securing Parsons for a fifth season. 

Parsons will be starting with a new number for his 2025 guarantee as a result of the Cowboys' no-brainer decision to exercise his option. He's already under contract for 2024 (at a bargain $5.4 million), but now, in '25, he'll be locked into a new number.

And since the option was picked up with him as a defensive end, that number will be $21.3 million - as opposed to $24 million as a linebacker. 

This, by the way, is not some “devious” or “cheap” Cowboys plan. Snaps taken at a certain position as determined by the league via the CBA determine that. And in the end, Micah is likely to get a new deal that puts him among the highest-paid defensive players of all time … regardless of his position “title.”