‘You have to look at everything’ — Packers GM doesn’t shy away from trade rumors linking Micah Parsons to Green Bay
Brian Gutekunst talked about the process of potentially acquiring elite players.
You know how the NFL works, executives and coaches can’t talk about players on other franchises’ rosters. But Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst talked as clearly as legally possible about the mounting rumors connecting Dallas Cowboys edge defender Micah Parsons to Green Bay.
“First of all, I can’t talk about any players on any of the other teams, but I think every opportunity that’s out there that we think could help the Packers, we’re going to take a long look at,” Gutekunst said on Wednesday. “If that opportunity makes sense to us, then we’ll do it, and if it doesn’t, we won’t.”
How the Packers operate
While Gutekunst can’t be specific about Parsons, he did expand when talking about the process of potentially acquiring elite players. And everything matters when an investment of that degree is on the table.
“Every decision affects your football team. Obviously, there are so many different factors in it,” Gutekunst added. “Who the player is, medical, cap-wise. But yeah, I think you have to look at everything. Any opportunity to help your football team, you have to look at and discuss as a group. We do that all the time, almost daily.”
The general manager admitted he considered a move for Khalil Mack back in 2018. The main point is that he is always looking for opportunities to improve the roster.
“Every opportunity that’s out there to help your football team, we’ve always taken a look at. Try to see how it affects us right now, how it affects us in the future, and make the best decision we can,” he stressed. “Sometimes we’ve been right, sometimes we’ve been wrong. Sometimes we’ve taken risks that really worked out for us, sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes we didn’t take risks and we look back and wish we would have.”
Micah Parsons hasn’t reached a contract extension, so he has requested a trade from the Dallas Cowboys. Drafted in the first round in 2021, Parsons is playing under the fifth-year option at $24 million, the final year of his rookie deal. However, the Cowboys would still have the ability to apply three consecutive franchise tags and keep him around through 2028 without a real long-term extension.
Internal development
Meanwhile, the Packers have to operate with what they have. Without major additions before Day 3 of the draft with Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver, the Packers are betting on new defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington’s ability to develop what the roster has.
“I’m pretty excited. They’ve done a really nice job. I really like the way they’ve been working,” Gutekunst pointed out. “DeMarcus Covington has done an excellent job with the front and how he ties in the backers and everything else with that stuff. I just really like the way we’re trending. I’ve seen individual improvement from a number of guys, but most importantly I’ve seen the coordination between the entire group and what we’ve been able to do so far. It’s still pretty early and the real bullets will start flying here pretty quick, but I like our ability and what we have in front of us.”
The Packers might want Micah Parsons, but the alternatives on the roster look more promising than last year’s performance could indicate.
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