Daily Norseman
The Green Bay Packers just completed one of the biggest blockbuster trades in recent years by trading for disgruntled Dallas Cowboys’ star edge rusher Micah Parsons. Parsons, an off-ball linebacker at Penn State, was drafted by the Cowboys in 2021 and since then was named 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year, 2x First-Team All-Pro, 1x Second-Team All-Pro, and 4x Pro-Bowler. He turned 26 in May. He has been top 3 in Defensive Player of the Year voting three times in four years, the exception being last year when he missed four games due to an ankle injury.
The Packers’ pass rush has been a weak point of their defense, as edge rusher Rashan Gary has been a disappointment, so has 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, and the Packers’ defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley does not like to blitz. The Packers had the second-lowest blitz rate in the league last season. The addition of Micah Parsons should provide an immediate boost to the Packers’ ability to rush the passer. He also provides star power that the Packers were lacking on defense.
That, combined with a top ten offense and defense last season in both points and yards, should be enough to get the Packers to another Super Bowl. At least that is the Packers rationale for acquiring Parsons.
According to Albert Breer, the Cowboys ultimately opted to part ways with Parsons because Jerry Jones no longer trusted Parsons enough to pay him a top contract like he did with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. There was also sort of a slow moving concern that the Cowboys roster was getting too top heavy and whether that was the right way to build their roster. They also found that only the 2015 Broncos won the Super Bowl driven largely by an edge rusher- Von Miller on his rookie contract. Finally, they also were aware that Parsons was not popular in the locker room like Prescott and Lamb. Breer reports that Parsons, “rankled teammates in different ways, seen by some as egotistical and self-centered. His podcast has created issues, too, that go all the way up to quarterback Dak Prescott.” Coaches (I’m sure Mike Zimmer was one of them) also had issues with Parsons for not being disciplined in his assignment on the field, opting to freelance in an effort to make splash plays while sacrificing run defense. Other pass rushers have had this issue, but apparently Parsons even more so. Some in the Cowboys organization were beginning to question his commitment to football, or whether he just liked what football had done for him.
One of the reasons this blockbuster trade was so stunning is because this hasn’t been the modus operandi of the Packers front office for decades. Indeed, it is the exact opposite. The Packers have largely avoided making any big splashes in free agency or blockbuster deals of any kind with the notable exception of moving on from Aaron Rodgers and trading him to...
