The Green Bay Packers apparently grew tired of beating the Dallas Cowboys on the field and decided to hand them a massive loss at the negotiating table as well.
Micah Parsons is a Packers player. Let that sink in. While Green Bay is sending two first-rounders and Kenny Clark to Dallas, it's a bargain price to pay for a generational pass-rusher entering the prime years of his career.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had to face reporters and defend the decision. His best answer? The Cowboys traded Parsons, an all-world pass-rusher on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory, to *checks notes* improve their run defense.
"We need to stop the run," said Jones. "We haven't been able to stop the run at key times for several years. When you have the kind of extraordinary pass rush that Micah had, then the way to mitigate that pass rush is to run at you."
Jerry Jones' excuse for trading Micah Parsons is enough proof the Packers won the trade
It just makes the Packers' deal look even better. Parsons should've cost far more draft capital than two first-rounders.
It's hardly going to sell the idea to Cowboys fans. They didn't need that Hall-of-Fame pass-rusher because they'd rather stop the run? Part of that requires Kenny Clark rediscovering his best form.
We love Clark and certainly won't discredit the Pro Bowl career he built in Green Bay, but he is also coming off his worst season. Clark only made one sack while earning a disappointing 57.1 PFF run defense grade. Again, Clark is a phenomenal player and will undoubtedly bounce back this season — losing him hurts.
But Jones' justification for trading Parsons is music to Packers fans' ears. If that's the best reason he could think up, the Packers can feel pretty confident they have won this trade. Not just won it, but stolen an all-world talent at a bargain price.
Parsons is one of the best pass-rushers the NFL has seen in recent memory.
In four seasons, he has piled up 52.5 sacks while hitting double-digits in all four years. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, only one other player in NFL history made at least 12 sacks in their first four seasons: Packers legend Reggie White.
That's the impact Parsons can make in Green Bay, and he's only 26 years old with the best years of his career still to come. It's hard to believe the Packers were able to pull off this deal.
The Packers lose Clark, and that hurts, but they now boast a defense featuring Parsons, Rashan Gary, Edgerrin Cooper, and Xavier McKinney. They have true All-Pro talent at every level.
But at least the Cowboys can stop the run now?