The Dallas Cowboys have put themselves in an unenvious position.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell explained on Monday, March 31, that the Cowboys don't have a realistic path toward Super Bowl contention if they extend Micah Parsons at north of $40 million annually, which is where Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns just set the market.

It isn't that Parsons isn't great, or even that he isn't worth that kind of money, but the contracts Dallas has recently doled out to quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs -- among others -- means the Cowboys will hamstring their roster construction by paying Parsons like the best edge rusher in the NFL (which he very well may be).

Barnwell's solution is a three-team deal with the aforementioned Browns and the Atlanta Falcons, the latter of which is in desperate need of an edge rusher and likely willing to pay Parsons the kind of deal he can command either this offseason or the next.

In return, the Cowboys would get the No. 2 overall pick from the Browns, which they could use to draft star edge rusher Abdul Carter out of Penn State, as well as the No. 15 pick where they could pursue a running back like Omarion Hampton of North Carolina.

"There could be a chance for [Dallas] to acquire the next Parsons on a rookie deal. It's incredibly unrealistic to project Abdul Carter to turn into Parsons, but the former off-ball linebacker's production exploded after being shifted to pass rusher," Barnwell wrote. "He racked up 12 sacks and a nation-high 24 tackles for loss in 2024. And crucially, while Parsons will be making more than $41 million per season over the next few seasons, Carter will make $41 million over the next four seasons combined if he's drafted at No. 2."