Dallas Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons is a defensive player with a quarterback number, and there is a belief in and around the team that when he inks a new long-term deal he will end up getting paid like players at the QB position.
The Dallas Cowboys are just days away from the start of their 2023 campaign and there is a great deal of hope that this could be the year the ‘Boys get back to the Super Bowl. Without a doubt, star quarterback Dak Prescott has played a major role in the team becoming a perennial playoff squad. However, it is no coincidence that they have had back-to-back 12-win seasons since Micah Parsons joined the team in 2021.
Related: Love Fantasy Sports? Get Top FREE Insights From One Of The World’s Best Players Today!
The 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has far exceeded expectations over his first two campaigns in the league, and that is saying something for a top-15 selection in the annual event. In his first two years, he has recorded 149 tackles, 26.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. He’s tallied the highest QB pressure rate (20.8%) of any player with at least 300 attempts in that time and he’s forced 21 throwaways. Which is tied for first (via Pro Football Focus).
Parsons has been a legitimate dominant force and major influence whenever he is on the field and it is why he has earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors the last two years. Fortunately for the Cowboys, the 24-year-old is signed for two more seasons at an absurdly cheap rate, and his fifth-year option is sure to be picked up — barring a catastrophic injury.
- Micah Parson stats (2022): 65 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 26 QB hits, 3 forced fumbles
Dallas Cowboys teammate says Micah Parsons deserves to be paid like a QB in next contract
However, the time will eventually come that Dallas will have to pay up, and all signs point to Micah Parsons likely getting a historic contract for a defensive player. On Tuesday, Dallas Morning News Cowboys reporter Michael Gelkhen spoke to some of the linebacker’s teammates, and all of them agreed the team needs to hand him a blank check.
“He definitely should get quarterback money,” Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs said when asked what sort of pay his teammate should get in a few years. “He’s a generational talent. He’s got too much talent. Nobody is like him. Like how a quarterback can change a whole team, he can change a whole defense, and he can ruin a play at any time. If you got that capability, you should get paid like it.”
Related: Highest paid NFL players in 2023: Average NFL salary, highest paid players by position
Backup quarterback Cooper Rush added, “He’s been wrecking practice, as you guys have seen at training camp. I think we’re all excited not to go against him and to celebrate when he gets a sack.”
In the Cowboys insider’s mind, Micah Parsons is likely to blow right by Aaron Donald’s record-breaking pay rate in a few years.
“Discussing whether Parsons should be paid like a defensive end or linebacker would shortchange his versatility and impact,” he wrote. “The team is expected to pay Parsons like the NFL’s most impactful defensive player, an approach that would speed rush him past Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s annual contract value of $31.67 million, making Parsons the highest-paid defender in league history.”