Micah Parsons has blamed back tightness for his absence from Dallas Cowboys practice, and he reportedly had a recent MRI.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones addressed the contract holdout, and Schottenheimer acknowledged the need to account for Parsons' up-in-the-air status for the opener against Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4. "I think [defensive end] is an area that we're pretty deep," Schottenheimer said.

The rookie head coach should get credit for how he’s handled Parsons’ request for a contract extension. It started in the offseason program when Schottenheimer asked Parsons to attend the voluntary sessions,