During the minicamp last month, Micah Parsons said that he would be in Oxnard for the start of the training camp even if a new contract isn’t done. A contract that the fifth-year edge rusher wanted to get done at the start of the last season. But Jerry Jones and Dallas were busy signing quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Fast forward to now, and Micah is in Oxnard, but the contract extension? Not even close. It’s just that Jerry Jones always comes up with an excuse.

And this time, the Cowboys‘ owner just randomly took a shot at Parsons on Monday, July 21, addressing his last season’s injury and Prescott’s contract. “Just because we signed him (Micah) doesn’t mean we’re going to have him. He was hurt six games last year, seriously,” Jerry said. “We’ve signed, I remember signing a player for the highest paid at the position in the league, and he got knocked out two-thirds of the year, Dak Prescott.”

The writing is on the wall: Micah wants a contract extension. Dallas also wants to sign him because they recognize him as a superstar and the face of the franchise. But the problem is, we just don’t know what else Dallas wants Micah to do to get a deal done. The Cowboys’ writer, Clarence Hill Jr., echoed the same. He wrote, “Just know the Cowboys have no problem paying more for Micah Parsons. I don’t know what more they need to see or can see with him likely holding at training camp. But here we are.”

And you could predict that someone from the Parsons family is frustrated over this contract dispute. Yes, we’re talking about Micah’s brother, Terrence Parsons Jr. Terrence reshared Hill’s post and expressed his frustration yet seemed calm over Micah’s contract extension dispute. “And this why I don’t need to speak on nothing Jerry been talking about having to pay Micah for 3 years lol said last year everybody getting paid it’s just a matter of when.” Translation?

Terrence knows this was already coming. It’s not frustration. It’s disbelief. According to Terrence, the Cowboys have been promising a deal for years. And now? Micah’s showing up, doing his part, and still waiting. But Jerry’s excuses are just on loop. To add another layer to it, Micah has arrived in Oxnard for the training camp, and it’s likely he’s going to hold out. And the logic tracks. You don’t want to get injured amidst a contract extension negotiation.

But is Jerry Jones doing? Well, he has all respect for Micah Parsons, but a new deal. “There’s no anticipation at all,” he said. “We’re just working with what it is. It’s not uncommon for me and not anything there’s a lot of angst over. He’s doing a real good job of being here. And that’s important. … We are where we are. And I sign the check. Period.”

He’s going to sign the check. But when? That’s a question. He said the same thing during the annual league meeting in Palm Beach. And he’s reiterating now. The deal is on the table, but what about the date? Nope. And Micah isn’t liking it.

Micah Parsons noticed what Jerry Jones is doing

Over 2,100 miles from the Cowboys’ camp in Oxnard, you’ll find the Steelers grinding it out at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. And guess who’s out there getting his reps in? Yep, TJ Watt. Funny thing is, he wasn’t expected to be there. A minicamp no-show, contract questions in air—it had all the signs of a hold-in. But then the Steelers did what smart teams do when they have a generational pass rusher: they paid him. Three years, $123 million. Just like that, Watt became the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.

Micah Parsons shouldn’t be at the training camp. For months, the defensive end expressed his desire to sign a new deal, but kept showing up in almost every drill. It seemed like he had the leverage, but did he? Absolutely not. Jerry Jones’ comment on Monday, “Just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re gonna have him. He was hurt six games last year,” justified it. To begin with, Jerry’s stats were off. Parsons missed four games due to a high-ankle sprain, not six.

And in protest, Micah re-shared JJ Watt’s tweet in which the NFL legend expressed his frustration. “Anytime you can publicly take a dig at your star quarterback and your star pass rusher simultaneously, right before the season begins, you just gotta take it… Nothing makes guys want to fight for you more than hearing how upset you are that they got hurt while fighting for you,” he wrote. Micah did everything. He became the face of the franchise. He showed up in the offseason practices. And yes, he earned Pro Bowl nods in every season.

But at the end of the day, it’s the contract extension that matters. It’s the contract extension for which a player holds out. And it’s the contract extension that will keep Micah in Dallas. Jerry is just pushing his agenda here. Micah will get a deal done, no doubt. But in the meantime, he’s stuck in Jerry Jones’ loop. In the meantime, one question persists: What else does Micah Parsons need to do to get a deal done?