Did that really happen? What the Dallas Cowboys’ trade of Micah Parsons was really about and why Jerry Jones is lying about it
It’s hard to believe the Micah Parsons trade happened. But it did.
After a long and blurry day of covering the Dallas Cowboys’ trade of Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, I’m typing this while my head kicks around the same question that it did the minute the news broke on Thursday: Did that really happen?
The Cowboys moved on from one of the best defenders in the entire NFL for a couple of first-round draft picks that they won’t be able to capitalize until April of 2026 and 2027. They also added defensive tackle Kenny Clark in return who—though he’s a good player and fans should have nothing against him—was not even the Packers’ best defensive lineman.
And to add insult to injury, when owner and general manager Jerry Jones talked to the media, he insisted this helped the Cowboys now. He cited the need for better run defense. He suggested this made Dallas a better playoff team. Did all of that really happen?
It did. And now I wonder, how do Cowboys fans bounce back from this one?
It’s no secret the Cowboys aren’t led by a front office that’s willing to take major risks to get to the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles aggressively manipulate the salary cap and make trades. Not so long ago, the Los Angeles Rams popularized the “F them picks” strategy. Most contending teams take swings in free agency to round out the roster.
Not Dallas. Sure, they’ve built some good, decent squads over the years but it’s been all about “draft and develop.” They shy away from risky free agency signings unless they’re cheap. They wait until the last moment to extend star players. In January, they promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach while interviewing only three other candidates for the job. The Netflix show might dub Jerry Jones “The Gambler” but that term stopped being accurate in the 2000s.
And yet, despite their risk-averse style, the Cowboys don’t let star players walk way. There’s drama. But Dak Prescott stayed after being franchise tagged in back to back years. Ezekiel Elliott signed after Jones publicly asked “Zeke who?” CeeDee Lamb put ink to paper after exchanging jabs with the owner. Jones boosts the soap opera ratings and then takes care of the minimum.
But this? Dealing Parsons, a defensive juggernaut that turned the Cowboys defense into a force since arriving in 2021, reaches another level. And the most difficult part is there’s no explaining it. At least not with football common sense. Because we know the “we want to stop the run” discourse is a lie. We can agree on that, right?
According to Bill Barnwell, the Cowboys had the best defense in EPA per play from 2021 to 2024 when Parsons was on the field. It was dead last when he was off of it. Another stat from Doug Clawson indicated Parsons could go “268 straight pass rushes without a pressure and still lead the NFL in pressure rate since joining the NFL in 2021.”
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to fix the run defense but if that’s your goal, you do it without getting rid of Parsons. Period. Now the Cowboys have to worry about rushing the passer and giving cornerbacks an easier life in coverage.
Not to mention, Kenny Clark is a good player but the Cowboys tried to sell him to the fanbase as if he was Aaron Donald, Quinnen Williams, or Dexter Lawrence. He’s not. He’s good. But Dallas isn’t getting a perennial All-Pro.
“We got what we wanted,” Jones told reporters.
I don’t buy it. Instead, I think Jerry failed to listen to his own advice and “let his money get mad.” Parsons’ camp approached the front office earlier in the week. Dallas told him to play on his current deal. They weren’t even open to negotiate with their best player. Maybe he felt disrespected during negotiations. Maybe he got fired up watching the Netflix documentary and thought he had one more Herschel Walker-esque trade in him.
But this is not that. It’s a different NFL. It’s a new CBA-restricted era. And with the resources the Cowboys landed on this deal, it’s not enough to build the kind of roster the team did with the Walker deal.
In reality, this is a Cowboys front office prioritizing ego and pride over keeping a star player. Forget about taking free agency risks or making salary cap gambles, pushing the limits to win championships. Now they’re not even keeping the proven All-Pro pass rusher who wanted to be in Dallas.
I don’t know if fans bounce back from this one. The Cowboys are trying less and less. The 2025 season starts next Thursday versus the Philadelphia Eagles and yet in a way, it feels like it ended yesterday.
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Jerry Jones’ explanation of Micah Parsons trade is an insult to Dallas Cowboys franchise and its fans
Unbelievable stance.
