Jerry Jones knows how to keep people on their toes with his signature shenanigans. And this season has been no different. While Mr. Jones has been a little quieter than usual, he’s still managing to make headlines with every move. Right now, all eyes are on Micah Parsons, the star LB of the Cowboys, who is heading into the fifth year of his rookie deal. And Jerry is playing the long game with his contract extension. No rush, no fuss -just Mr. Jones being his usual self. The team signed one defensive player, but Micah’s situation is still unresolved. Former player J.J. Watt dropped some words of wisdom following this messy situation. But more on that later.

After sorting out the contract extensions of center Brock Hoffman and defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, the Cowboys finalized one more extension just before free agency. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that Dallas and safety Markquese Bell have agreed to a three-year extension. “The Cowboys and safety Markquese Bell have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with a max value of $12M.” The move came after Bell’s three-year, $2.58M rookie contract ended this season.

Markquese went undrafted in the 2022 draft, but the Cowboys picked him up after the draft. The team used him more as a safety/LB. His time on defense took another hit when Eric Kendricks joined the team as an LB last season. In the 2024 season, Bell played in nine games, logging six combined tackles. Then, in mid-November, a shoulder injury sidelined Markquese, for which he underwent surgery, requiring the rest of the season to heal.

So, while Markquese gets a paycheck, Micah Parsons is still waiting for his contract. Cowboys Nation is losing its patience, not hearing any positive updates on the defensive star’s future with the team. Following this chaos, a former NFL player has some words of advice for Jerry Jones‘s team as well as other teams.

J.J. Watt weighs in on the Micah Parsons contract saga

Last week, WR CeeDee Lamb stole the spotlight when news broke of him agreeing to restructure his $136 million deal. “I want to win. It’s gonna take more than just myself,” said CeeDee when a netizen questioned his decision. All eyes then turned to QB Dak Prescott, with people wondering if he would do the same to free up some salary cap space.

And it was only a matter of time before Dak restructured his contract the very next day. Both of these new deals freed up $56.6 million in the Cowboys’ cap space.

Now, Jerry Jones has made it clear that the team won’t go crazy in free agency after freeing up this much cap space. But extending Micah Parsons’ contract wouldn’t be crazy either, yet Jerry has remained tight-lipped on that. Enter J.J. Watt, who has a few wise suggestions for the Cowboys. “Reward your players earlier and reap the benefits in the long run. Dragging it out not only ends up costing more, it creates unnecessary tension,” Watt wrote in an X post. And this doesn’t just apply to Dallas, it’s relevant to the Bengals as well, who have been keeping quiet on WR Ja’Marr Chase’s extension talks. “The longer you wait, the higher the price,” added Watt.

So now, either Jerry is waiting until the last minute to drop a bomb, like he always does, or the team is about to mess up Parsons’s situation. After all, Dak and CeeDee’s contract restructuring might have been done with Parsons’s extension in mind.