During a Dallas Cowboys preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium, team owner Jerry Jones had a seemingly positive interaction with Micah Parsons' mother, Sherese Parsons.
Mrs. Parsons was spotted in the stands wearing her son's No. 11 jersey. Jones approached her after being informed she wanted to greet him, hugging her while they both smiled broadly.
The interaction created a viral moment, partly because the All-Pro defensive end is currently embroiled in contentious contract negotiations with the club.
And, on that note, Jones couldn't help but make a joke , pretending Sherese was the real No. 11.
"Now, Micah, why aren't you out there playing? You act like you want some money or something," he said.
Well, there are two ways to look at this exchange. One, did Jerry really know he was interacting with Micah Parsons' mom, or did he think it was a random fan looking for an autograph? If he didn't and he joked about his star player's contract negotiations inadvertently to his Mom – well, hoo boy.
Two, if he was fully aware that this was Sherese, then it seems Momma, at least, wants to see Parsons remain a Dallas Cowboy. And that would have to be perceived as a good sign that the two sides will come together.
Parsons delivered another standout performance this past season, recording 12 sacks, 43 tackles, and two forced fumbles across 13 games. This, despite missing four contests due to a high-ankle sprain.
He became just the fourth player in NFL history to achieve 10 or more sacks in his first four seasons, joining an elite group including Hall of Famer Reggie White. The season earned him a fourth Pro Bowl selection.
But he and the team have been involved in tense contract negotiations, with Parsons' agent recently sending an angry message to the organization, while ESPN's Adam Schefter has claimed he and the Cowboys are "headed for a divorce."
Parsons was spotted at the Falcons game lying down on a training table behind the team bench while the Cowboys were on offense in an apparent protest.
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Longtime ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg has a theory on why the Cowboys have been so bad for so long: Contracts.
Greenberg believes the Cowboys' brass waits too long in signing players to extensions, costing them significantly down the line. Who is responsible for that? Well, in the long run, the owner.
Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, for example, played coy with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb on his extension last year, opting to wait until the last minute and prompting Lamb to miss early parts of training camp. His production dropped significantly.
Similarly, Prescott was signed after Lamb, and the delay in his extension caused the quarterback market to move in his favor.
It's happening again with Micah Parsons.
"So why is all of this so important? It's because management of salaries has now crushed the Cowboys for nearly 30 years," Greenberg argued on his show, Get Up. "Bear in mind, the league implemented the salary cap during Dallas' dynastic run in the 90s, where they won three titles in four years."
"Since then, they have won a total of five playoff games, and they have by a wide margin the longest drought without an appearance in the NFC title game. They were there in '95. The second-longest wait? Chicago in 2010."
Good Lord, as a Cowboys fan, it hurts just to hear that.
Greenberg added, "So, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
And yet, here we are, doing it all over again. Insane.
Also Read:: Cowboys' Jerry Jones Makes Bizarre 'Mother-Dad Deal' Analogy to Defend Excluding Parsons Agent
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