FRISCO, Texas -- Following a three-game losing streak that ran the Dallas Cowboys record to 3-5 through the first nine weeks of the 2024 season, there were plenty of reasons to sell off what players they could at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday.
Instead, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was a buyer, trading a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for 2023 second-round pick wide receiver Jonathan Mingo and a 2025 seventh-round selection. Jones explained his full rationale to injured, three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons for why he opted to make such a move with quarterback Dak Prescott dealing with a hamstring injury, among issues.
The inspiration was partially fueled by a phone call Jones had with Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, who reminded Jones of the 1971 season. That was when Dallas was rotating back and forth between Staubach and Craig Morton as the team's starting quarterback, but after a 4-3 start, the Cowboys installed Staubach as the full-time starter. They went on to win their final 10 games in a row en route to a Super Bowl VI title.
"I talked to Jerry. He came down and he watched me work out last weekend," Parsons said Wednesday. "He was just like, 'I've been here before.' Staubach called me and was like, 'we were 3-5 and we still made a run [in 1971 after going 4-3].' So that gives Jerry his old school beliefs. When your owner believes in it, and he truly believes these are the right guys, that gives confidence into the guys in the locker room because your owner believes in you. Even though you haven't had the most success and things aren't going your way, he still believes you can do great things. And honestly you should. This has proven to be a winning team, a 12-5 team the last three years. We've obviously got more losses at this point than we ever have. But the high hopes in the players are still here. We've just got to stop beating ourselves, and that's the penalties and things like that."
There were some in the football world who suggested a nuclear option of trading Parsons for a bounty of picks in a Khalil Mack-type of haul, but Parsons himself is confident in remaining a Cowboy for a long time because of his connection with Jones.
"Honestly, it flatters me. But at the same time, there's always a business level," Parsons said when hearing others talk about his potential trade value. "Me and Jerry love each other. I always appreciate Jerry for giving me the opportunity [to play in the NFL]. He's done a lot of great things to change my life on and off the field. More than people will ever know. He confides in me. I mean, Jerry picked me up on the side of the road and said, 'Come watch the Super Bowl with me.' That just lets you know what type of owner Jerry is. He left early and gave us [Parsons and friends] the suite and [said], 'Here, you and your friends enjoy.' It honestly flatters me. I think if Jerry ever had a problem with me, he would call me into his office and we'd have a sit down before anyone on national TV could."
They ended up sharing a suite at Super Bowl LVIII last February after running into each at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, not the side of the road, further entrenching Parsons ties to the Dallas Cowboys and increasing the likelihood he signs a market-resetting extension in the 2025 offseason.
"Side of the road. I was outside of the Wynn hotel, and Jerry walks out of the Wynn hotel and goes: 'Micah! Where are you going? ... Are you going to the game?'" Parsons said. "I said, 'Nah.' He said, 'You want to come?' I was like, 'Yeah.' He brought me to the game. I was like, 'Cool.' We got a chance to talk for a few hours. It goes to show you how generous and caring he is. He broke me down about life and football and how he sees the players, how he sees the team and where he wants to go with us. The fact that he did that with me, it goes to show that our relationship is growing and he trusts me."
Some would argue that being this close with his players could make it more difficult for Jones to make savvy but difficult personnel decisions at key junctures in terms of when to let go of certain players, etc. However, Parsons, of course, argues Jones' passion and enthusiasm -- which comes out in regular postgame and radio media availabilities -- is a plus, not a minus. Some Cowboys fans may disagree with the 2023 NFL quarterback pressures leader on that topic, but Jones' hands-on involvement with Dallas football operations is never going to change.
"I think it's a good thing," Parsons said. "Because honestly, a lot of owners don't care. Jerry cares about how comfortable we are, he cares about this facility. When you walk in the building it says, 'It's a privilege, not a right to wear the star.' I think when you got an owner like that, actually cares and actually wants to be involved in this process, instead of like, 'This is a moneymaker, this is about money to me.' His heart is in it. And when someone's heart is in it, think about family, family doesn't always do the right things or make the right decisions, but you still love them because they care. They actually care about the significance about what they're doing."