Very rarely are All-Pro-caliber players traded in their primes. League rules and contract structures typically prevent it, with stars either changing teams in free agency or finding ways to stay with their original squads.
That wasn’t the case Thursday, when one of the most consequential deals in NFL history took shape.
The Packers acquired superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons from the Cowboys, bringing a dramatic saga between the defender and his longtime Dallas squad to an end. Leading into Thursday, it remained a question whether Jerry Jones and company would actually consider trading Parsons, a 26-year-old on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
Parsons did ask to be moved from Dallas, seeking a lucrative extension that the team failed to give him, but it was still stunning when the superstar got his wish via a trade to Green Bay on Thursday evening. Parsons then immediately agreed to a record-breaking extension with the Packers and is now poised to become a focal point of the franchise for years to come. The Cowboys, meanwhile, said goodbye to a superstar but still managed to net significant draft capital in return.
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Here’s a breakdown for both sides of the Parsons trade, grading the package for Green Bay and Dallas.
MORE MICAH PARSONS TRADE:
Micah Parsons Cowboys-Packers trade grades
Cowboys receive:
- 2026 first-round pick
- 2027 first-round pick
- DT Kenny Clark
Packers receive:
Packers: A+
There are a very select amount of NFL players worth trading multiple first-round picks to acquire. Elite quarterbacks and pass rushers typically fall under that small umbrella, as they’re the kinds of players who can actually transcend an entire unit. Parsons is one of those players.
Sure, Green Bay will have to find other ways to acquire elite young talent in upcoming years after shipping out 2026 and 2027 first-round picks, but landing Parsons is a move they made with eyes on an immediate Super Bowl title. The Jordan Love-led offense will have steps to take, but it’s not unreasonable to think the Packers can get there with Parsons.
Just 26 years old, the Penn State product gives Green Bay’s defense one of the NFL’s most disruptive talents, no matter how he is utilized. Parsons is one of three players to record 12 or more sacks in at least four of the last five seasons, and there is still reason to believe his best years are ahead of him.
With four years on his extension, the Packers are virtually solidifying that they’ll own a top-10 defense for the next few seasons, should Parsons stay healthy. He’s one of the few defensive players in the NFL who can entirely transform his unit, and in turn, his team. Between Parsons, Rashan Gary, Devonte Wyatt, and more, Green Bay now owns a terrific defensive front that can attack offenses in various ways.
Last season, the Packers ranked sixth in the league in total defense (315.6 yards allowed per game), sixth in points allowed per game (19.9), and were tied for eighth in team sacks (45). Then, they added arguably the most versatile pass rusher in the league who’s tracking to appear in Canton someday. In other words, trading for just one player should take their defense from very good to elite.
Kenny Clark became a very good player in Green Bay, but in reality, his absence will not be noticed when Parsons arrives. First-round picks are extremely valuable in the NFL, so if there’s something to nitpick, it’s the fact that Green Bay mortgaged its next two seasons for one player. Nitpicking in this instance wouldn’t be wise, however. It may be one player, but when that one player is Micah Parsons, it’s a deal worth making. He makes the Packers serious Super Bowl contenders.
Cowboys: B
Trading Parsons was never going to be ideal for the Cowboys. The best-case scenario would have been Parsons, Jerry Jones, and everybody involved in this contract fiasco talking things through, realizing both sides want Parsons to stay in Dallas, and hammering out an extension. But that never happened, for whatever reasons.
If the Cowboys were playing this situation as if they “had” to deal Parsons, not seeing his contract desires as a real alternative, then they did fairly well to get an adequate return. Grading this trade as if Jones was fully convinced it was time to move on from Parsons, he did decently to set his franchise up for future contention.
As the team (eventually) puts Parsons’ high-profile hold-in in the rearview mirror, there are still reasons to believe first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer has a group that can contend for an NFC playoff spot in 2025. Adding Clark, a 29-year-old defensive tackle who has been a steady presence on Green Bay’s line for years, is valuable. The three-time Pro Bowler is not Parsons, but Clark can still provide a boost to a Cowboys defense that needs players to step up.
Parsons’ absence will be obvious for Dallas this year. While the Packers added a superstar capable of changing games by himself, the Cowboys lost one. In that simple context, it’s hard to compare Clark and Parsons. But in reality, Parsons wasn’t prepared to play for the Cowboys at all, and Clark is still a solid player that can help the squad compete in the NFC East in 2025.
Of course, Clark wasn’t the highlight of Dallas’ return. As mentioned in the Packers section, first-round picks are immensely valuable. Rarely do teams acquire multiple first-rounders in one deal, with past examples including the 2018 Khalil Mack trade to Chicago and the 1987 trade that sent Eric Dickerson to Indianapolis.
If you’re going to deal a true superstar in their prime, you better ensure you get multiple first-rounders in return. Jones accomplished that. And while first-round picks can’t suit up to help a team that wants to contend this season, the Cowboys are set up nicely to build around Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and others down the road.
In the past decade, Lamb and Parsons are among Dallas’ former first-round selections, a reminder that one top pick can have serious consequences. While Green Bay’s picks may wind up being later in the first round due to the Packers’ playoff contention, they’re still significant building blocks for a Cowboys team that hasn’t broken through in decades.
No, trading Parsons wasn’t the ideal result of this situation for Dallas. And no, first-round picks are guaranteed to be All-Pro players. But if the Cowboys convinced themselves that Parsons had to be dealt at this point, they deserve at least some respect for landing a Pro Bowl player and two top-tier picks in return.
