Is this Reggie White all over again?
That has to be the first thought after Green Bay made one of the boldest acquisitions in franchise history and traded for Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons.
On Thursday, the Packers dealt veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks to the Cowboys for Parsons. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the news. Green Bay then signed Parsons to a record-setting four-year, $188 million deal. That ends a contract standoff with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and creates yet a new storyline for the Packers this offseason.
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It’s a shockwave not felt in Green Bay since April 6, 1993, when defensive end Reggie White signed with the Packers via free agency — a move that changed the fortune of the Packers in the 1990s and eventually lifted the franchise to a Super Bowl 31 championship.
Will Parsons create the same effect?
MORE MICAH PARSONS TRADE:
Why did Green Bay trade for Micah Parsons?
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst took over in Green Bay in 2018. He let Mike McCarthy go and hired Matt LaFleur. He drafted Jordan Love after back-to-back 13-win seasons and traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets.
All of those moves haven’t hurt the franchise. They just did not push it to the top.
Green Bay has reached the NFC playoffs each of the past two seasons, and Love signed a four-year, $220 million contract extension. Yet the Packers fell behind Detroit and Minnesota in the NFC North pecking order last season, and the Bears are on an upward trajectory with Caleb Williams.
The Packers have been criticized in the past for not taking that big swing toward Super Bowl contention.
You can’t make that argument now. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett is on a $160 million contract through 2030. Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt is on a three-year, $123 million deal through 2028. Parsons is getting approximately $47 million per year with the Packers. Gutekunst is taking his largest swing yet.
Why is Micah Parsons trade being compared to Reggie White signing?
It’s not exactly the same situation. White became the first mega-free agent signing in 1993. That was after two seasons with the Memphis Showboats in the USFL and eight seasons with Philadelphia, where he compiled 124 sacks. He was 32 when he signed a four-year, $17 million deal. At the time, that was a huge contract and a risk for Green Bay, who were not the NFC contender they are today.
It worked. White had 68.5 sacks over six seasons with the Packers, but along with Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, the franchise became a true Super Bowl contender. Green Bay ranked first in scoring offense and scoring defense in 1996, when they finished 13-3 and beat New England 35-21 in Super Bowl 31. White set the Super Bowl record with three sacks.
Will the Packers enjoy the same success with Parsons?
Micah Parsons has a chance to prove he’s the best defensive player in NFL
AP sportswriter Josh Dubow cites that White and Parsons are the only two NFL players to have at least 12 sacks in their first four seasons.
Parsons is an elite pass rusher, and Dallas had a top-five scoring defense in 2022 and 2023. That dropped to 31st last season, and Parsons missed four games with a high-ankle sprain. He still finished with 12 sacks, with 11 of those coming in the Cowboys’ final nine games.
Parsons has never won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. White won it twice — once with Philadelphia in 1987 and again with Green Bay in 1998.
This is the prove-it factor for Parsons. If he can be that dominant pass rusher for the Packers in the NFC North, then he will be a candidate to win that award. This has been the missing piece for the defense. Green Bay hasn’t had a player hit double-digit sacks since 2020 when Za’Darius Smith led the team with 12.5. That Packers’ team lost 31-26 to Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay in the NFC championship.
Rashan Gary has led the team in sacks each of the past two seasons. He had 7.5 sacks last season and nine sacks in 2023. Gary had 32 hurries last season. Parsons had 44 in four fewer games.
Gary will be a high-end second pass rusher in defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s scheme now, and second-year linebacker Lukas Van Ness also will benefit. This legitimizes a defense that was already supposed to be good this season. Losing Clark hurts, but come on — who wouldn’t take Parsons here? Even if it fails, it was worth the shot instead of staying stagnant in the division.
Will Micah Parsons lead Green Bay to a Super Bowl?
White helped Green Bay reach two Super Bowls, and another high-profile defensive free agent fared well in Green Bay. The Packers signed Charles Woodson in 2006 after the cornerback spent eight seasons with the Raiders.
Woodson had 38 interceptions in eight seasons with the Packers. He won AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2009 and helped Green Bay reach Super Bowl 45 where it beat Pittsburgh 31-25. That was the Packers’ last Super Bowl appearance.
The Parsons’ signing feels like a combination of the White and Woodson moves, with the added bonus that Parsons is in his prime. That’s a meaty contract, but given the Packers’ first-round history, it’s worth it. Green Bay is no longer the dominant team in the NFC North, something that got taken for granted during the Rodgers’ era.
Speaking of Rodgers, Green Bay will play Pittsburgh in Week 8 on Sunday Night Football, four weeks after the Packers play the Cowboys in Week 4 on SNF. Those could easily be the two most-watched games of the NFL season. If Jones wanted to contribute to the soap-opera feel of the NFL by trading Parsons, then mission accomplished.
We just didn’t expect it to be by trading one of the game’s best defensive players to an NFC rival. The perception now is the Packers are all-in for a Super Bowl appearance.
It tends to work out when they do that.
