This NFL offseason has certainly been a wild one, as a plethora of high-profile players find themselves with new homes heading into the 2026 season, none more high-profile than Myles Garrett, as the Cleveland Browns recently dealt the two-time (and reigning) Defensive Player of the Year to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for Jared Verse, a first-round pick in 2027, a second-round pick in 2028, and a third-round pick in 2029.
Naturally, when a deal like this goes down, plenty of pundits like to look back at blockbuster trades from the past, with one such recent example coming from Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports, who took some time to offer up his thoughts on what he believes to be the 10 greatest trades in NFL history.
While Garrett has obviously yet to play a single snap for Los Angeles, DeArdo already has the Rams-Browns deal in the No. 4 spot on his list, saying that it "could rank even higher depending on what happens with Garrett and the Rams during their time together."
Ranking just ahead of the Garrett trade at No. 3 is another recent deal that could also end up ranking even higher as the years progress depending on how things play out. And as we're sure you've already guessed, that deal is none other than the one that took place last August between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys involving Micah Parsons.
For those wondering, the No. 2 entry on the list was the Rams acquiring Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions in 2021, with the top spot going to the monumental mistake the Minnesota Vikings made in 1989 in acquiring Herschel Walker from the Cowboys, ultimately sending Dallas an absurd amount of draft picks, which America's Team used to help build its 1990s dynasty.
But let's get back to the Parsons deal.
Micah Parsons had a phenomenal first season with the Packers despite tearing an ACL late in the year
For those who may have already forgotten, to get Parsons, who'd already racked up 52.5 sacks in his four seasons in the NFC East and had earned four trips to the Pro Bowl and three total All-Pro nods, the Packers sent the Cowboys their first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 and veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who had a good but not great first year for an overall dreadful Dallas defense that surrendered 377.0 yards and 30.1 points per contest, respectively ranking 30th and dead last in 32nd in those categories.
The deal doesn't look as lopsided as it once did, as the Cowboys used the 2027 first-round pick they received from the Packers as part of the package they sent to the New York Jets in November to acquire defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who earned his fourth consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl.
And with the 2026 first-rounder, which turned out to be the 20th overall pick, Dallas dealt it and a 2027 seventh-rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the 23rd, 114th, and 137th overall selections, which were used on UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence, Florida cornerback Devin Moore, and versatile Alabama defensive lineman LT Overton. So, again, things look better for Jerry Jones & Co. than they did 10 months ago.
But that's not to say that the Packers didn't still get the better end of the deal, as Parsons, like Garrett, is a generational type of a talent. Yes, Micah did suffer a torn ACL late in the year, an injury that has already knocked him out of at least the first four weeks of the upcoming season, as it's been confirmed that he'll start the year on the PUP list.
Nevertheless, despite missing the final weeks of this past season, Parsons still tallied 12.5 sacks in his 14 appearances and earned a fifth straight Pro Bowl selection, his third First-Team All-Pro selection (and fourth overall), and a third-place finish in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. And there's no reason to believe that the 27-year-old can't post those same kinds of numbers and earn those same kinds of accolades once he returns.
And for this trade to continue to look better for Green Bay than it does for Dallas, he's going to have to, especially seeing as how the Packers made Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history by inking him to a four-year, $186 million extension once the trade was completed last year.
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