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The Dallas Cowboys’ view on trading superstar defensive end Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers is simple: It was the right move.
“We feel very good about it,” Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones said of trading Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in an interview with Mad Dog Sports Radio on Tuesday. “Obviously, a lot of respect for Micah and what he represents, how he plays and the caliber of player he is, but at the same time we feel good about what we’ve added through that trade.
“If you look at guys like Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, they are alpha players, who are not only great players on the field, but they are also leaders in the meeting room. How they go about their business during the offseason; [they] He just brings great leadership to this team. We added a guy like Caleb Downs, who is obviously the same type of character. He will make everyone around him great. Everyone is going to feed on it. And then the pieces we’ve added over the last few years. We are excited about [Donovan] Ezeiruaku, who was a second-round pick for us last year, who I think is all over him.”
After failing to reach a long-term deal with Parsons last offseason, Dallas traded him to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle and three-time Pro Bowler Kenny Clark and two first-round picks (2026 and 2027) in August; Parsons subsequently signed a four-year, $188 million extension ($136 million guaranteed) with the Packers.
Parsons, a Pro Bowler in each of his five NFL seasons, had a productive debut season with the Packers, but it was one that was cut short after 14 games due to a torn ACL. Before the injury, Parsons totaled 12.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and 41 combined tackles, helping him earn the third All-Pro honor of his career.
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At the same time, at the 2025 NFL trade deadline, Dallas traded its 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-rounder (the highest of the two first-round picks the Cowboys have in the 2027 NFL Draft), and its defensive lineman and 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith to the New York Jets for defensive tackle and four-time Pro Bowler Quinnen Williams. Of course, the Cowboys missed the playoffs for the second straight season, finishing 7-9-1.
“I feel very optimistic that we have the right pieces in place to go out. In the end, the decision we made was that one player is not worth four or five good ones,” Jones said of the fallout from the Parsons trade. “We feel like that’s where we’re going to end up here, in a good place. We had that opportunity there and we didn’t feel like we were one player away last year, but I certainly feel like we’re putting the pieces together to give ourselves the opportunity to do what our fans deserve, what we want, which is try to win the big trophy.”
As for the last draft, the Cowboys traded one spot with the Miami Dolphins to select Ohio State Buckeyes safety and two-time All-American Caleb Downs with the No. 11 pick. They also traded three spots with the Philadelphia Eagles, selecting UCF Knights defensive lineman Malachi Lawrence with the No. 23 pick, which they received from the Packers in the Parsons trade, among other picks.
