Today is August 12th. Micah Parsons remains a hold-in (although he has yet to use that specific verbiage) for the Dallas Cowboys. Here is a video of him leaving Tuesday’s practice after having not participated.

This contract situation has (like the many ones before it) gone on way too long for the Cowboys and for Parsons. It has become a distraction that is taking away from the team and their goal of finally delivering the ring to Mordor and ending the soon-to-be 30-year drought that hangs over the franchise.

Each and every time (because there are several instances) a contract situation becomes a thing for the Cowboys, they find a sticking point to use in their defense. At the moment Jerry Jones is leaning hard on a conversation that he and Parsons allegedly had where a deal/contract was allegedly worked out. Parsons has contested, even publicly within his trade request that is now almost two weeks old, that he felt those conversations were somewhat casual and that he will not be negotiating a deal without his agent, David Mulugheta, involved as a part of them.

Jerry Jones has acted pretty offended at the idea that Parsons’ agent needs to be a part of this process. Back in the offseason Jerry even claimed to not know Mulugheta’s name. It isn’t hyperbole to say that Mulugheta is the most powerful individual agent working within the National Football League. The move was silly at best from Jones.

Silly is sort of par for the course as evidenced by DaRon Bland. Like Parsons is at the moment, Bland is currently set to enter the final year of his current contract with the Cowboys. Bland was asked about his contractual status with the team following Tuesday’s practice and noted that there have been some conversations with his agent.

The insinuation from Bland, he is not directly quoted as saying this, is that his agent is a part of the process. That makes sense given literally everything we know about the way these things go in the NFL. Even if Bland were to clarify and say that the Cowboys not spoken to his agent and that only he has, he is underscoring the normality of an agent’s inclusion in the process.

The Micah Parsons situation is already a circus caused by the Cowboys, but they continue to magnify the absurdity with claims like that the agent in question does not need to be affiliated with what they are doing. Whether or not they realize that, one of their own players just provided the latest counter-example.

As it relates to Bland, it would be wise of the Cowboys to get something done with him before the season begins. The future around Trevon Diggs is murky at best, and fellow veteran Kaiir Elam (who was acquired over the offseason in a trade with the Buffalo Bills) is also entering the final year of his current deal. At the moment the future of the cornerback room looks like Shavon Revel and Caelen Carson (barring any future moves, obviously) so adding some stability to it with Bland would be smart.