OXNARD, Calif. — The stories practically wrote themselves on Day 1 of Cowboys training camp. 

Star receiver CeeDee Lamb agreed with a young fan who shouted from the stands that this will be a career year for him and newcomer wideout George Pickens, whom the Cowboys acquired in a trade with the Steelers.

There was also the storyline of new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who already has received rave reviews from his players because of his unmatched energy on a daily basis. 

But producing career years and memorable first seasons will be tough to achieve if star edge rusher Micah Parsons isn’t around. Without question, Parsons and his contract dispute with the Jones family was the biggest story from a busy Tuesday afternoon at the Cowboys’ home away from home in Southern California. 

For Cowboys fans, who are probably tired of starting training camp with messy contract negotiations, it was a good sign that Parsons reported and had limited participation. He didn’t fully practice because of what Parsons referred to as back tightness, perhaps an injury that will magically disappear whenever team owner Jerry Jones and his son Stephen decide to ramp up contract negotiations with Parsons’s agent, David Mulugheta. 

To summarize this public dispute, the older Jones told reporters a few months back that he had no clue who Mulugheta was, the super agent who has made millions of dollars for countless NFL players. On Monday, Jones took a shot at Parsons, saying that signing the star edge rusher doesn’t guarantee he’ll play because he was hurt for six games last season. 

That led to Parsons eating his watermelon on the sideline next to cornerback Trevon Diggs, which happened to be in front of several reporters and cameras. 

“There’s not really much movement,” Parsons started by saying. “I want to be here. I’ve always stated I want to be here, but at the end of the day, they [the Jones family] sign the checks like always. Let’s see if they want me to be here at the end of the day.”

Parsons went on to say that he didn’t report to camp to please the Jones family and help speed up his contract negotiations. He said he showed up for his teammates and to help the young players such as Sam Williams and rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku.

“I think they got their own timeline on when they want to get things done,” Parsons said. “At any given time they can get things done. … I’m doing this [being at practice] for myself and my teammate. This isn’t for Jerry, this isn’t for Stephen. This is for guys like [Diggs]. This is to help guys like Donovan, Sam. Guys I know I can get better just by being here and being there for them.”

For more positivity, it seemed Parsons wanted to talk to reporters to take counter shots at his owner for what he said Monday, but mentioned multiple times that it’s not personal and he understands it’s just business from both sides. 

As for the down side, it’s never good when a star player starts talking about the end and possibly not being wanted by the team. Parsons even pleaded his case for why he believes he should be the highest-paid nonquarterback in the league, a title that recently went to Steelers star edge rusher T.J. Watt after signing a three-year, $123 million contract extension. 

“If they don’t want me here, they don’t want me here,” Parsons said. “I’ll keep going on about my business. I understand the nature of the business. Like I said, if this is the end, this is the end.”

This contract dispute is far from over, but let’s get to what else we saw and heard from Day 1 of Cowboys camp. 

Best thing I saw: Kneeland picks off Prescott 

If contract negotiations with Parsons don’t pick up before the season, the Cowboys are going to need the young pass rushers to step up such as Marshawn Kneeland, the 2024 second-round pick. 

Kneeland got off to a fast start after recording Dak Prescott’s first interception of training camp. After seeing nothing downfield, Prescott decided to throw a short pass to running back Miles Sanders, but Kneeland jumped in front of his new teammate and took off with the ball, running up the right sideline.

Last season, Kneeland only played 36% of the defensive snaps and didn’t register a sack in 11 games played. 

Best thing I heard: Lamb agrees that career years are loading 

For a second, I thought the best thing that was going to happen at Cowboys camp was team mascot Rowdy tapping me on the shoulder and waving hello. But that moment quickly took a backseat because the knowledgeable young Cowboys fan shouting from the stands stole the show. 

“This is going to be both of y'all's career seasons,” the young fan shouted.

“For sure,” Lamb replied while warming up on the field.

“CeeDee, no way you just replied to me,” the young fan responded in excitement. “CeeDee Lamb just replied to me.”

That was followed by other fans asking Lamb whether they could get his autograph after practice, which he agreed to. 

Rookie who impressed: Ezeiruaku resembles Parsons

It was easy to confuse Ezeiruaku with Parsons at times because he was standing on the edge wearing a jersey that had a No. 1 on it. Parsons wears No. 11 and the rookie second-round pick sports No. 41. 

Obviously, Ezeiruaku has a long way to go before replicating Parsons’s production on the field, but he made a few impressive plays on Tuesday. Overall, the defensive front got the best of the Cowboys’ offensive line during passing plays, leading to a few rough drives for Prescott to end practice. 

But the young pass rushers will need to improve against the run because the offensive line gained plenty of push and allowed running backs Sanders and Javonte Williams to deliver lengthy runs. 

Veteran who impressed: Pickens happy to be a Cowboy

Pickens acknowledged that he can have somewhat of a split personality on and off the field. His character was often questioned during his rocky three-year stint with the Steelers, but he was all smiles for his first camp practice with the Cowboys.

Pickens, who made a handful of plays Tuesday, credited Schottenheimer and his infectious energy for making him feel welcomed with Dallas. 

“It’s been great,” Pickens said about working with Schottenheimer. “He’s probably one of the best coaches I’ve ever had around. Besides like [Georgia coach] Kirby Smart and a lot of other legendary coaches that I’ve played for, but his energy is like one of one and you can’t really … that’s gotta be in somebody, you can’t really make that.” 

Song of the day: “Shot Callin” by YoungBoy Never Broke Again

Credit to the knowledgeable young Cowboys fan for telling his friend the name of this song because I had no clue that it was a song by YoungBoy, a popular rapper for the younger generation. Shoutout to that kid because he was very helpful during my visit to Oxnard.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cowboys Training Camp Notebook: Micah Parsons Addresses Messy Contract Dispute .

Test hyperlink for boilerplate