Pro Football Rumors
One of this century’s most significant NFL transactions occurred Thursday, when the Cowboys shockingly traded Micah Parsons to the Packers for two first-round picks and 10th-year defensive tackle Kenny Clark. After a monthslong saga that brought a host of rumors (and Jerry Jones confirming them in his rather pivotal Michael Irvin interview) no trade would happen, Parsons has since arrived in Green Bay and is now tied to a record-smashing defender contract.
While the topic of a trade came up multiple times during this process — including an early-February report indicating internal dialogue transpired on a deal — no real waves surfaced regarding a swap until this week. Parsons’ camp had attempted to reengage with Jones, who had waged an interesting crusade against the defensive end’s agent (David Mulugheta) during this saga, this week but was told he would either play on his fifth-year option number or be traded.
Parsons has barely a week to prepare for the Packers’ opener. It does not sound like the four-time Pro Bowler will be a full-time participant — after a de facto hold-in — according to Brian Gutekunst (via ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky). Parsons attended Cowboys minicamp and training camp but did not practice, using a back injury as cover during training camp. That was never viewed as a major issue, the Thursday trade haul confirming the Packers’ minimal concerns here.
Jones’ stance of Clark replacing Parsons on the 2025 being a net gain is a tough sell, as the 2026 and ’27 first-rounders are the lead assets here — for a Cowboys team that has drafted eight All-Pros in Round 1 since 2010. But the longtime owner did say the team’s interest in adding a D-tackle impacted the team’s search.
The 37th-year owner indicated (via NFL.com’s Jane Slater) the Cowboys only discussed trades with teams who carried sufficient DT depth and would be willing to meet Parsons’ contractual demands. The latter component goes without saying in a trade like this, but it is interesting the Cowboys made the DT position a central part of this deal.
This included “several” conversations with the Packers, per Jones (via TMJ4’s Ashley Washburn) in recent days. While the Cowboys would presumably have a much better chance to justify Jones’ comments about potential post-Parsons improvement in 2025 had they unloaded the superstar EDGE before the draft, the owner/GM said (via Slater) the team did begin considering it in the spring. Though, the 82-year-old Cowboys honcho added the team did not discuss Parsons with other clubs pre-draft.
Jones (via Slater) cited the Cowboys’ D-end depth as a reason they felt OK making this seismic move. Dallas used a second-round pick on a defensive end for the third time in four years, adding Donovan Ezeiruaku a year after selecting Marshawn Kneeland. Sam Williams is also a former second-rounder, but the 2022 draftee is coming off an ACL tear.
Dallas also reunited with Dante Fowler, who registered a Washington-best 10.5 sacks last season. That said, ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell relayed a telling...
