The Dallas Cowboys traded linebacker Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday evening for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and their next two first-round picks.
Why they made the move
Parsons and the Cowboys had seemingly reached the point of no return in their contract negotiations, and the star linebacker was holding in while putting pressure on the team to trade him. It didn’t appear an amicable resolution had been in the cards.
The Cowboys’ latest offer was for five years and $202.5 million, according to a league source. Parsons rejected that proposal.
As it turned out, Parsons got what he wanted and then some from the Packers with a four-year, $188 million extension that includes $136 million guaranteed. Parsons broke open the pass rusher market with that deal at $47 million annually, blowing away recent extensions for Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt ($41 million) and Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett ($40 million). The Cowboys’ latest offer would have gotten Parsons to $40.5 million annually.
The Packers, meanwhile, are ready to contend for another Super Bowl. Their offense is in great shape with quarterback Jordan Love’s development and a talented cast of skill players, but they needed a defensive cornerstone. Interestingly enough, rival executives already believed the Packers had a strong front seven, so Parsons only strengthens that group.
Packers grade: A+++
The Packers got a superstar who just turned 26 years old, so Parsons hasn’t even entered his prime. He didn’t come cheap, and general manager Brian Gutekunst will need a high success rate while building out the rest of the roster around Parsons’ historic number and Love’s $55 million rate. It’ll be especially challenging without a first-round pick in 2026 or 2027.
But young and talented teams that go for it should almost always be praised. The roster and the books are in excellent shape because of Gutekunst’s work since the Aaron Rodgers trade, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt that will only continue.
Parsons, a two-time first team All-Pro, ranks fifth with 52.5 sacks since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2021, trailing Garrett, Watt, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson and San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa. Parsons’ pressure rate (20.3 percent, according to Pro Football Focus) ranks ahead of all of them and his 330 total pressures are tied with Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby for the best in the league since 2021.
As one rival executive simply said, “I think he’s the best defensive player in the league, and he just got traded.”
Cowboys grade: C+
The Cowboys believed they could salvage negotiations with Parsons, but the Packers and other teams continued to make trade offers. Eventually, the Packers’ offer was (apparently) too much for the Cowboys to ignore.
Clark will help a run defense that allowed the most touchdowns and fourth most yards in the NFL last season. And although the Cowboys didn’t make the move for cap purposes, they’ll have more financial flexibility to address other needs in the offseason.
Those first-round picks will help, too. Even though the Packers figure to be selecting at the bottom of the round, the Cowboys will have premium draft capital to maneuver with.
The Cowboys already appeared to be in somewhat of a soft rebuild with a new coaching staff and uncertainty on the roster after an injury-plagued 2024 season. They’re obviously worse without Parsons now, too. Admittedly, that’s a rosy way to view a rebuild, but for an organization that measures success by Lombardi Trophies, a brief reset like this could help long term.
It’s not a good look, though. After contentious negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb last year, the Cowboys should have done a better job of getting out in front of the Parsons discussions. Instead, they welcomed far too much drama.
Strictly in terms of compensation, the Cowboys did fine. It’s seldom the case for a team to recoup real value when a player is so publicly available, and the Cowboys accomplished that. But it’s perfectly reasonable to argue it never should have reached this point.
For a team with a rich history of star power, consider the Parsons trade a supernova.
(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
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