NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network’s Jane Slater reported prior to the news conference that Parsons and his reps had reached out to the Cowboys about an extension after news of a potential trade leaked out this week. Jones, per those reports, communicated that Parsons could play on his fifth-year rookie option or move on via trade. Jones confirmed the conversation.
However, he conveyed no ill will to the player he drafted 12th overall in 2021.
“I really like Micah,” Jones said. “I appreciate the four years that we’ve had him here. He’s a great player. We are very appreciative of the fact that he’s a great player. There’s no question that I could have signed him in April. And so, we all know that to have agreements all parties have to agree, but this was by design. I did make Micah an offer. It wasn’t acceptable, and I honored the fact that it wasn’t done through the way he wanted to do it with an agent. So, he was made an offer. There’s not an ounce of vindictiveness. There’s no bad feelings on my part about the fact we didn’t come together on an agreement.”
The Cowboys are coming off a 7-10 season, one that snapped a run of three straight playoff berths. Among the pitfalls of the 2024 squad was a run defense that was 29th in yards allowed and dead last in rushing touchdowns given up.
Thus, Clark fills a massive need on the defensive interior for the ‘Boys.
“Kenny Clark was a big part of this,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “That was a part of winning right now. We feel like when you look at the frustration is we hadn’t been able to win the big game in the playoffs, and we think it is a direct connection to not being able to stop the run. And we think Kenny Clark is gonna be a big piece to that. We felt like because of our depth on the edge, as well as the ability to scheme pressure, that we could make up for Micah — because obviously he’s elite at rushing the passer — that we could make up for that. Then in addition to it, we do now have two ones in each draft over the next two years, and nothing says we can’t use those to improve the team this year, which we wouldn’t rule out.”
Dallas has already glimpsed life without Parsons, with the standout missing four games last year. The Cowboys went 1-3 and allowed 30.3 points per game in his absence.
Now, the likes of Marshawn Kneeland, Dante Fowler, Sam Williams and rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku will shoulder the burden of replacing the 14.2 sacks per season Parsons averaged. And though the Cowboys now boast four first-rounders over the next two years, Clark will slot in front of Mazi Smith, the team’s 2023 first-rounder who’s struggled mightily.
The Joneses believe the future is bright because of the haul, though. Bright enough to call back to the famous Walker trade.
“Micah Parsons did an outstanding job for us for four years, and a little bit of the way Herschel Walker may have had his greatest contribution to the Cowboys, what he brought to us when he left could be a tremendous thing for our fans and the success of this team,” Jerry Jones said.
In the fall of 1989, the Cowboys — under Jones and then-head coach Jimmy Johnson — engineered a trade that sent Walker, viewed as one of the league’s top running backs, to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a cadre of players and some draft picks. However, a stipulation to the deal was that conditional picks were attached to every player should Dallas cut them. The Cowboys parted ways with each player, garnering three first-rounders in total and plenty more draft ammunition, which eventually led to Dallas selecting Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, along with Darren Woodson, Russell Maryland and Kevin Smith — mainstays during the Cowboys 1990s dynasty.
So, in terms of draft capital gained, Thursday’s blockbuster doesn’t match up.
Nonetheless, the summer’s biggest burning question has been answered.
Parsons is gone to Green Bay and Dallas believes it’ll still contend now and for autumns to come with nary a regret to show for it.
“Nothing at all in terms of regret,” Jerry Jones said. “You’re asking if I regret, no, I don’t regret that at all. I’m very, very excited about the prospects of what we’ve done for the Cowboys here. I wouldn’t have done it. I wouldn’t have done it. I had total control over being able to have it the other way. So, I’m excited. We got what we wanted.”
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