FRISCO - No matter how many times the Parsons family says it, skepticism rules.
Nevertheless, here we go again ...
Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons has a way with words, and with his contract situation in the headlines most days, naturally, he's found a lot of ways to say the same thing.
Parsons has shown up to the early activities at The Star as the offseason begins, but with his contract talks moving rather slowly, some are wondering if Micah will follow in the footsteps of CeeDee Lamb, who held out of training camp due to no new contract.
Micah, when speaking at the Annual Reliant HR Derby, stated it is extremely important for him to get his deal done before training camp, but also said he would still be around the team in order to learn Matt Eberflus' new scheme.
"I'll still be around," Parsons said. "For me, I've still gotta learn a playbook and I'm not so much of an iPad person where I can just keep learning, like I gotta walk through it. Maybe it's so much I might not be on the field part of it, but I'll be there learning, so that way I'm at least getting prepared to be ready for Week 1."
So, it's important to Micah that his deal gets done before camp, but regardless, he'll be there in Oxnard.
We reported well before the NFL Draft, via our interview with Micah's brother Terrence, that a camp holdout was not the plan.
And then on Draft night on his B/R show, Micah reiterated it again.
And now Terrence is again trying to guide the audience, promising that Micah will be in Oxnard.
Things can change. There is such a thing as a hold-in, and minds can be altered, so ...
Exactly in what capacity Micah might be present is unknown, and that might hinge on how the negotiations are going between his agent, David Mulugheta, and Jerry and Stephen Jones.
Parsons, so far this offseason, is doing and saying all the right things as one of the new leaders in Brian Schottenheimer's new regime. And CowboysCountry.com continues to report that this contract situation might have the sides land on somewhere around $200 million over five years.
Yes, the longer it goes, the more antsy people get. We understand that.
But the Parsons family has now stated repeatedly that when the Cowboys hit Oxnard to begin training camp, with or without a contract, Parsons will be there, as owner Jerry Jones believes every team "leader" should be.
And we have no reason at this point to distrust that pledge.