Many instances have come about during the franchise tag era of teams classifying edge rushers as linebackers as opposed to defensive ends, as the former designation saves a bit of money under the tag formula. Grievances have stemmed from these decisions, with compromises being reached on some occasions. The script may flip in Dallas.
This year’s franchise tag and fifth-year option numbers produced a higher linebacker salary compared to defensive ends. The LB tag comes in at $24MM, while the D-end number is $21.32MM. This will pertain to the Cowboys, who have refused in the past to label Micah Parsons a full-on defensive end despite the team regularly lining up the star defender at that spot.
While the Cowboys will make one of the easiest fifth-year option calls in history by exercising Parsons’ 2025 guarantee, the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken notes the team will classify Parsons as a defensive end when picking up the option.
Drafted as a linebacker, Parsons made the move to regular edge rusher fairly early in his career. But the Cowboys had previously pushed back on labeling the 2021 No. 11 overall pick a DE. The team would, however, stand to have a clear runway to label Parsons a DE due to the fast-rising star playing the bulk of his snaps at the position. Parsons played 87.8% of his defensive snaps on the D-line last season. With the Cowboys using a 4-3 scheme, this would not fall under the typical 4-3/3-4 dispute that commonly comes up regarding edge rushers’ tag or option numbers. Because Parsons has three original-ballot Pro Bowl nods on his resume, his fifth-year option doubles as the franchise tag number.
As of now, it would be unlikely Parsons plays the 2025 season on his option. The Cowboys found a dominant defender with that No. 11 pick three years ago, and the Penn State product is on a clear path toward the Hall of Fame. He will command a top-market extension. The option number could play a part in the team’s extension approach, which would introduce a new wrinkle in a process that usually plays out with teams preferring to label an edge rusher as a linebacker for financial purposes.
Since the 2011 draft began the option era, the Cowboys have extended four players (Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Ezekiel Elliott) before they played a season on the fifth-year number. Smith, Frederick and Elliott signed new deals before their fourth seasons. Morris Claiborne and Byron Jones are the only Cowboys to play out a…