If the Maxx Crosby blockbuster trade between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens proved anything, it's the fact that the Green Bay Packers absolutely stole Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys.
There's no doubt that the Ravens are getting a great player in Crosby, who has been one of the best and most consistent edge defenders since he came into the league back in 2019. There's also no doubt that the Raiders got a nice haul back for Crosby with two first-round picks heading Vegas's way, including the 14th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But there's also no doubt that the Packers got an even more productive player, who is younger, and for a very similar price tag.
Packers' trade for Micah Parsons looking like a heist after Maxx Crosby trade
Crosby will turn 29 before the start of the 2026 season, while Parsons was only 26 at the time of the Packers' blockbuster trade with the Dallas Cowboys.
The Ravens paid a hefty price to get Crosby on their defense, and justifiably so. But compared to the Packers, the window with Crosby is not going to be open nearly as long. The Packers were able to get a player just entering his prime and a more productive pass-rusher.
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Since entering the league in 2021, Parsons has made 65 sacks in 77 games, compared to Crosby's 52.5 sacks in 78 games. According to PFF, Parsons has 431 pressures in that time, whereas Crosby has 390.
The base of both trades was two first-round picks, but the one piece the Packers had to part with that the Ravens didn't was a starter on their defense. Kenny Clark went back to the Cowboys in the trade, but that part of the deal wasn't really the pot sweetener many thought it was at the time.
The Packers likely would have only had Clark around for one more year at most, and he was expected to be a cap casualty for them after the 2025 season regardless of how the year went. And now Clark himself is 30 going on 31, and is currently carrying a salary cap hit of $21.5 million for the Cowboys.
The decision to part with Clark was as much of a win for the Packers as it was for the Cowboys, if not more so in favor of Green Bay. For a player who was likely playing in the last year of his deal, the Packers were able to use him in a trade to get a superstar edge rusher at the age of 26.
The Packers don't get anything for getting better perceived value in the Parsons trade compared to what the Ravens are getting from Crosby, but it just proves that Brian Gutekunst was able to strike while the iron was white hot. And frankly, it feels like he caught Jerry Jones sleeping a little bit.
There's no question that Jones settled for the value he received in return for a player of Parsons' caliber and age, and the Packers took advantage of his apparent desperation to make an example of Parsons.