Micah Parsons is a Green Bay Packer, and Jerry Jones Is Trying to Get His Title Back As "The Worst General Manager in Dallas Sports"
Grading the blockbuster Micah Parsons trade
Micah Parsons is a Green Bay Packer
Yes. Arguably the best defensive end in the NFL will now be hunting quarterbacks in the NFC North, wearing green and gold.
This is a post I never imagined writing even a year ago. Micah Parsons felt like the cornerstone of the Dallas Cowboys — a freak athlete built to terrorize quarterbacks for the next decade. He embodied what it meant to be part of Dallas football.
But in the NFL, the unexpected often becomes reality. Contract disputes, ownership issues, and a team’s desire for a new identity can flip a franchise’s direction in an instant. And now here we are: Micah Parsons has been traded.
Let’s break it all down.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers just made the boldest move of the season, before it even started.
Yes, the price was hefty: two first-round picks and their best defensive lineman are now gone. But this wasn’t a move the team will regret. It was necessary.
Jordan Love established himself as a franchise quarterback last season. The young wide receiver corps is improving every year, and the defense was already solid before the addition of Parsons. Still, the team lacked that one defensive superstar who could elevate the entire unit.
Then the trade happened. Micah’s a Packer.
Now paired with Rashan Gary, Quay Walker, and Devonte Wyatt, Green Bay has assembled one of the most fearsome front sevens in football. Parsons doesn’t just bring sacks — he brings leadership, experience, and the reputation of being feared every single Sunday.
The former Penn State linebacker has had over 12.5 sacks in each of his first four seasons. The only other player to do that? The late great, Packer superstar, Reggie White.
The NFC North now looks drastically different. The Lions have been known as the division’s physical, dynamic powerhouse, but the Packers are finally elite. The Vikings and Bears? Both have young quarterbacks who now must face Parsons twice a year — a nightmare scenario for developing passers.
This was a title-contender move by Green Bay, and with Parsons locked up on a four-year, $188 million extension, the Packers are set to dominate for years.
Grade: A
Dallas Cowboys
For the Cowboys, this move is brutal.
Losing Parsons hurts — there’s no sugarcoating it. He was the best player Dallas had, the centerpiece of the defense, and one of the few guys in the league who could completely flip a game by himself. Trading him away is a massive statement.
But Dallas had its reasons. Parsons’ rookie contract was coming to an end, and the money it would have taken to extend him was the largest for a defensive player in NFL history. The Cowboys already have multiple players on expensive deals. Both Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are making more than $30 million a season, leaving little financial breathing room. Add in Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, and that’s nearly $500 million spent on four players.
By moving Parsons, Dallas secures two first-round picks and Kenny Clark, a top defensive lineman. This gives them flexibility for the future — whether that means drafting Prescott’s successor, reloading the defense, or building more around Lamb on offense.
Still, make no mistake: this is a gamble. Without Parsons, the Cowboys lose their defensive anchor, and with no Dan Quinn (old defensive coordinator who left for Washington in 2024), the unit could take a major step back. Dallas is essentially betting on its ability to draft and develop, something that’s worked for them in the past but hasn’t won them a Super Bowl in decades.
Without Parsons, the Cowboys aren’t a threat.
Grade: C-
Conference Impact
This trade doesn’t just shake up Dallas and Green Bay — it shakes up the entire league.
The Packers instantly become one of the top two or three contenders to represent the conference in the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Cowboys, once seen as a “few pieces away” team, now feel like they’re trending in the wrong direction.
The Parsons trade will haunt the Cowboys for a while. And make no mistake: this was something Jerry Jones could have handled much better.
League wise, everything’s changed. A top player is on a better team. This means that the 15 other teams in the NFC, and the 16 in the AFC, will have a harder chance at competing for the playoffs.
Final Thoughts
Micah Parsons in Green Bay is a difference maker. The Packers are officially all-in on winning a Super Bowl in the Jordan Love era, while the Cowboys are facing an identity crisis.
And in the end, that’s what blockbuster trades are supposed to do — change everything.
Micah is a great pash rusher who fades by December. If Green Bay wins this year it’s going to be bc of Jordan Love.
Micah Parsons is a difficult player to grade. I'm not sure if Jerry's assertions of Micah in the run game are entirely correct, but it can't be denied that Dallas's defence has been disproportionately good against the pass compared to how good they were against the run in 2021, 2023, and 2024. In 2024 especially, giving up 0.083 EPA/Rush was not worth the trade. How much of the blame for this can be given to a single pass rushing outside LB? Tough to say.
However, it can be said with confidence that Micah moving to the Packers (who struggled badly against the pass but were strong against the run in 2024) is the right directional move. Kenny Clark is coming off a mild down year, but not a huge one, although at age 30 in this league you never know what a player is going to be from one season to the next. You just hope that the Packers haven't given up so much in the run game that a defensive strength turns into a weakness. I don't think they have, but it's always possible.
This is an interesting trade from the Dallas side. I find it odd that the Bengals' roster builders are routinely crucified for locking so much money into just a few guys, meanwhile the Cowboys are being crucified for not wanting to do so with Micah Parsons. I know the situations are slightly different in Cincinnati vs Dallas, but they seem similar enough that they shouldn't be thought of as differently as they're being thought of right now.
The Cowboys in 2025 have lots of cap space. Dak Prescott is the only big money player they have right now. They could've fit big money Micah easily, but this team has so many extensions kicking in next year, it would've been tough to fit another one. They have less cap space in 2026 than they do in 2025, and that's with only the contracts on the 2025 roster, without Micah.
I have more trust in Jerry Jones than most, as he's shown time and again since 2003 his ability to strip the Cowboys down and build them back up again. I'm not sure where all the talk of him being a 'bad' GM comes from. The Cowboys have been the NFC's best team multiple different times over the last 20 years. Jerry knows how to build a team. It always remains possible that at 82 years old, the man is losing his edge, but I give such an accomplished roster builder some benefit of the doubt when he makes a shocking move like this, especially now with a couple extra first round picks.
I think this is a good trade for the Packers, trading out some of their rush defence strength to attempt to shore up their dire pass defence weakness from last year. It's a hefty price they paid, and I think Micah can turn out to be a disappointment very easily, but it's a good trade. I just don't know if Dallas is getting enough credit for the fact that they're pretty good at making chicken salad out of a bad situation. They've done it time and again over the years. With an 82 year old GM, you never know which time is the last time, but Dallas gets the benefit of the doubt from me on this, based on past successes. I think your C- trade grade for them is a little harsh here.