Cowboys Picking Up Micah Parsons' Fifth-Year Option

The Dallas Cowboys have picked up All-Pro pass-rusher Micah Parsons' fifth-year option as a defensive end, even though he's listed as a pass-rushing linebacker on the team's depth charts. As a result, Parsons will earn $21.32 million in 2025 as a defensive end, instead of the $24 million he would have been paid if he had been tagged as a linebacker. The 24-year-old former first-round pick in 2021 out of Penn State has been a Pro Bowler in each of his first three NFL seasons and had another big year in 2023, recording 64 tackles (36 solo), a career-high 14 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, 33 QB hits, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 17 regular-season starts. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year finished as the No. 10 defensive lineman in IDP fantasy formats and should once again be targeted as a starting defensive lineman in those formats this fall.