Micah Parsons tiered landing spots: Potential trade candidates for disgruntled Cowboys edge rusher

The Dallas Cowboys and superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons remain locked in a contract stalemate. The latest news is that there is no news because Jerry Jones basically refuses to talk to Parsons' agent about a deal. The two sides apparently haven't even discussed a contract -- or anything at all -- since March or April. 

As ridiculous as that is, and as likely as it is that this all ends with Parsons extending in Dallas for a contract that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, it's getting to the point where we might have to consider other possibilities as having a non-zero chance of happening, even if that chance is infinitesimal. That's why we're here today: to look at some of the possible ways that this can end, and tier the potential destinations into different categories. 

One quick note would be that we're assuming the price would be relatively the same for every team: two first-round picks, plus more, whether in the form of draft capital or young players with star potential. That's a high price to pay, obviously, but that is going to be the going rate for a 26-year-old superstar player who is arguably the best defender in the league -- even when you have to immediately hand him a record-setting contract that will likely pay him in excess of T.J. Watt's current non-quarterback record of $41 million per year. 

Without further ado ...

Agent's Take: How Cowboys' Micah Parsons innocently fueled contract dispute with Jerry Jones

Joel Corry

Most Realistic

Green Bay Packers

The Packers are the kind of team that Parsons would actually be traded to, if he were to be moved, according to NFL Media. And that makes a ton of sense. Green Bay fancies itself a Super Bowl contender, and rightfully so, but still doesn't have a dominant player around which to build its defense or even just its pass rush. Dropping Parsons into the mix across from Rashan Gary would, as they say, really tie the room together. And the Packers have enough cap room (over $31 million) to absorb Parsons on his current deal before signing him to a monster extension. All that needs to happen is, well, Jerry Jones being willing to make a trade with a team that has tormented his own in the playoffs in recent years.

New England Patriots

As we wrote earlier this week: Last season, the Patriots generated pressure on only 28.1% of opponent dropbacks -- 31st in the NFL. They signed Harold Landry and K'Lavon Chaisson and drafted Bradyn Swinson this offseason, but those are potentially minor upgrades to the unit at best. They could use Parsons more than perhaps any other team in the NFL. ... With Drake Maye on his rookie-scale contract, they have plenty of room to pay a superstar player like this over the next four to five years. The Pats have more cap room (almost $60 million) than any team in the league and can do this rather easily, if they're willing to meet Jerry's and Micah's prices.

Need at Edge

Detroit Lions

Detroit obviously has Aidan Hutchinson on one side of the line, and there are very few edge rushers who are better than him. Parsons, of course, is one of those edge rushers, and the possibility of pairing them together would be very exciting. General manager Brad Holmes has talked about being in touch with some free agent edge rushers like Za'Darius Smith, but those guys would obviously not have nearly the same type of impact as Parsons. The question here is whether the Lions could actually pay yet another guy at the top of the market, and at a position where they're already likely to hand out a monster deal to Hutchinson.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks already added a former Cowboys edge rusher this offseason by signing Demarcus Lawrence to a three-year deal. They have the Cowboys' former defensive line coach, Aden Durde, as their defensive coordinator under Mike Macdonald. And we've seen Macdonald cobble together a pass rush out of spare parts in both Baltimore and Seattle. Imagine what he could do with a superstar like Parsons on his hands. Bringing in Parsons would result in some absolutely crazy looks up front from a scheme wizard who already gets just about as crazy as any defensive play-caller in the league. Seattle has over $34 million in cap room, so the Seahawks could swing this.

Carolina Panthers

As we wrote in our story on each NFC team's biggest challenge this season: The Panthers checked in second-to-last in expected points added (EPA) per dropback allowed last season, via TruMedia. ... Carolina got pressure on just 25.2% of dropbacks (dead last) and also ranked dead last in average time to pressure (2.75 seconds). There was no level of disruption to anything that opposing passers wanted to do on any level. Parsons leads the NFL in pressure rate since he entered the league by nearly three full percentage points. He is a pass rush unto himself. If Carolina truly has faith that Bryce Young is The Guy, then the opportunity to capitalize on his rookie-scale window is there for the taking. With $18.8 million in cap room, they can make a move or two and make this happen.

Tennessee Titans

Tennessee spent most of its resources this offseason on its offense in preparation for the selection of Cameron Ward at No. 1 overall. The Titans signed Dan Moore and Kevin Zeitler, and used a bunch of Day 3 picks on pass catchers. Their second-round pick was Oluwafemi Oladejo, but all they have coming off the edge outside of him is Dre'Mont Jones, Jihad Ward and Arden Key. That's ... not a lot to complement Jeffery Simmons on the inside. Tennessee has plenty of cap space and as big a need on the edge as any team in the league, and obviously has a runway to spend over the next 4-5 years with Ward on his rookie deal. But there's also not much of a need to rush the process here, given that the Titans were bad enough last year to land the No. 1 pick.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Yaya Diaby looks like he can be a pretty good player off the edge for the Buccaneers, but there isn't much else in the way of pass rush juice on this team. Things are so desperate that they signed Haason Reddick, who is coming off a one-sack season with the Jets that was an epic disaster. He obviously had double-digit sacks in each of the previous four years, but at age 31 it's hard to count on him. Parsons playing for Todd Bowles would be pretty fun considering the types of pressure packages the Bucs coach has cooked up over the years, and improving the pass rush could elevate Tampa from being an interesting NFC pseudo-contender into a real one. 

Can't Rule Them Out

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens, as mentioned in the Seahawks section, seemingly always cobble together a pass rush almost no matter who they have on the edge. It's just what they do, year after year after year. But they've also shown in the past that they're willing to take big swings for superstar players, and Parsons is as rare a superstar as there is in the league. Baltimore doesn't currently have the cap space to add Parsons (around $14.5 million) but a simple restructure of Lamar Jackson's deal ahead of a possible extension next offseason would more than make up for it, and would obviously be well worth it -- especially considering that a Parsons extension would drop his own cap hit.

Never Gonna Happen

Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders

If you think Jerry Jones would be reluctant to trade Parsons to the Packers, just imagine his lack of willingness to move him within the division. Even if this is exactly the kind of thing that the Eagles do all the time, and even if the Commies have Dan Quinn as their coach and an absolutely massive need on the edge, it's just not the kind of thing that Jerry would ever do.