As expected, the Dallas Cowboys will take up Micah Parsons’ fifth-year option. The surprise, however, is how Dallas conducts business.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Parsons will be given the opportunity to play defensive end rather than linebacker. By doing so, the Cowboys will save almost $3 million. Parsons would earn $21.32 as a defensive end in 2025 if he exercises his option. He’d earn $24 million as a linebacker.
Teams have until May 2 to exercise the fifth-year option for 2021 first-round draft picks.
Labelling Parsons as a defensive end is more than just a cost-cutting measure. Technically, Parsons was deployed as a defensive end rather than a linebacker last season. According to Pro Football Focus, Parsons played nearly 88% of his regular-season snaps last year at the line of scrimmage.
This will most likely be moot because Parsons will not play under his fifth-year option. Parsons is widely expected to sign a lucrative, long-term contract anytime between now and the start of the 2025 season.
Since his debut in the NFL in 2021, Parsons has established himself as one of the league’s elite defensive players. Since then, the former first-round choice has been named to three Pro Bowls, two All-Pro teams, and the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year.
