The Green Bay Packers stole the best defensive player in football from an NFC rival. It's still hard to believe.
Jerry Jones keeps doing Jerry Jones things. The Packers' stunning trade for Micah Parsons already looked one-sided, but Jones has now made the Dallas Cowboys' decision even more baffling.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Cowboys have signed cornerback Daron Bland to a four-year extension worth $92 million. Bland is a talented player, but that's a lot of money to pay. The timing is also notable, just days after Dallas sent an all-world pass-rusher packing for a discounted price.
Cowboys' Daron Bland extension makes the Micah Parsons trade even more baffling
It just makes the Parsons decision even more bizarre. Dallas is happy to pay Bland. And CeeDee Lamb. And Dak Prescott. Guard Tyler Smith is likely next.
But the Cowboys drew the line at paying top-of-the-market money to Parsons, the only pass-rusher not named Reggie White to post 12-plus sacks in each of their first four seasons. Not only that, but they then traded him to a rival for two first-round picks and Kenny Clark.
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Clark is undoubtedly talented, but he is almost 30, entering Year 10 in the NFL, and is coming off a career-worst season. We love Clark, but it's difficult to understand why the Cowboys didn't at least push for an ascending young player, like Edgerrin Cooper or Matthew Golden.
The Cowboys' loss is the Packers' gain, and we're certainly not complaining.
It's not hyperbolic to call the trade the heist of the century. That's how good Parsons is. Matt LaFleur said it best by calling it a "rare, rare, rare opportunity."
Not just to land a player like Parsons at 26 years old, but from an NFC rival.
An NFC rival that the Packers have embarrassed repeatedly over the past decade. Let's not forget that Green Bay is undefeated inside AT&T Stadium and has as many playoff wins there as the Cowboys, including victory in Super Bowl XLV.
It's a franchise-altering move for the Packers. That can't be understated. It leaves the Cowboys reeling, and Jones' decision to suddenly open up the checkbook for Bland's new deal makes the entire situation all the more baffling.