Micah Parsons Trade: Reaction to Blockbuster, What’s Next for Packers, Cowboys

Henry McKenna

NFL Reporter

Micah Parsons and the Cowboys have broken up. 

In a blockbuster deal that has sent shockwaves across the NFL, Dallas on Thursday traded the All-Pro edge rusher to Green Bay.

After a lengthy and dramatic contract stalemate with the Cowboys, Parsons has now agreed to a four-year, $188 million deal with the Packers, who are sending Dallas two first-round picks (2026 and ‘27) and starting defensive tackle Kenny Clark in return.

FOX NFL reporters Ben Arthur and Henry McKenna react to the blockbuster and provide their insight on what it means for both teams and for the power balance in the NFC.

What is your immediate reaction?

McKenna: To some degree, you can almost see what the Cowboys are doing. Almost. They just got two first-round picks and avoided paying a defender a truly historic deal. Parsons and the Packers agreed to terms on a contract that blows all other edge players out of the water, with his deal hitting $47 million in average annual value (upon initial reports). That’s more than what Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray and Kirk Cousins make in average annual value. For the Cowboys, this a ruthlessly pragmatic trade — one that goes against what we thought we knew about Jerry Jerons’ vision, which was that they’d be built around Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Parsons. 

But with Moneyball approaches like this trade (Look at the draft picks! And all the cap space!), there are also the legitimate matters of how much the Cowboys lost by trading Parsons. And so here’s the much-needed context, shared by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell: By EPA per play, the Cowboys were the NFL’s No. 1 defense with Micah Parsons on the field during his four years in Dallas. But when Parsons wasn’t on the field (1,039 plays), they were the league’s second-worst defense over that same stretch by the same metric. 

In other words, Jones just crippled his defense.

So yes, the Packers just made history with the deal. And yes, Green Bay gave up two first-round picks — probably in the mid- to late-20s — to get Parsons. But does any of that matter? The Packers got Parsons, one of the top 15 players in the NFL.

Arthur: Speechless. 

Like many others, I expected the contract stalemate between Parsons and the Cowboys to go like others that we’ve seen the franchise have with superstar players. Just last year, we saw quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb agree to terms on mammoth deals with the team right before the regular season after months-long drama and tension. It’s what we’ve come to expect from Jerry Jones over the years (even though we can all agree it’s bad business). So for that not to be how the book ends this time, it’s shocking — particularly for a player like Parsons, who’s on a first-ballot Hall of Fame trajectory. It’s a lesson that sometimes, relationships are beyond repair. 

How does this affect the Cowboys’ 2025 outlook?

McKenna: Well, I guess Donovan Ezeiruaku is going to play early and often! When the Cowboys drafted him in Round 2, it raised some alarms about the Parsons situation — but not like this. The truth is that Ezeiruaku is just one of many players who will need to step up in the absence of the defense’s best player. Parsons is the most versatile front-seven player in recent memory — maybe even in NFL history. So Dallas’ defense might be so bad that it puts Dak Prescott into a Joe Burrow situation (like we saw in 2024). Prescott will have his two passing weapons in Lamb and George Pickens. And in order to win, they won’t just have to overcome opposing defenses, they’ll have to overcome their own defense.

Arthur: Dallas has dropped out of the “in the playoff mix” tier. The Cowboys will be clawing for a postseason berth, similar to the space they found themselves in last year, when they went 7-10 with Prescott missing nine games. 

The Cowboys’ offense, if everyone stays healthy, could be among the best in the league if they can get enough out of the run game. The CeeDee Lamb-George Pickens tandem, on paper, is one of the NFL’s best at receiver. But Dallas’ defense was awful last season with Parsons (minus four games). It obviously gets dramatically worse without him, even with DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs healthy at cornerback and the addition of a solid defensive tackle in Kenny Clark coming to the Cowboys in the trade. 

Are the Packers now the biggest challenger to the Eagles in the NFC?

McKenna: They’re certainly a legitimate challenger. I had them missing the playoffs in the competitive NFC North, in large part because of the strength of the division — with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. Now, I can’t picture a scenario where the Packers miss the playoffs. There are things to iron out on offense, with Green Bay hoping that rookie WR Matthew Golden can be a bona fide WR1 right away. There are still things to iron out on defense. (The Seahawks shredded the Packers starters, minus a few injured players, during joint practice last week.) But if Parsons and quarterback Jordan Love are dominant on each side of the ball, the Packers will be a hard team to beat — even for the Eagles, the Lions, the Rams and the Vikings.

Arthur: The Packers are certainly near the top, but I’m not quite ready to say they’re the biggest challenger. They may not even be the primary one from their own division. The Lions lost coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, but they still have the same top-end star power on their roster and big-game experience — plus a healthy Aidan Hutchinson. I’m taking the Commanders over Green Bay at this moment, too. But if Parsons continues to be Parsons, first-round pick Matthew Golden is a hit at receiver and Jordan Love takes a step up at quarterback, this could be a different conversation in a few months. 

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on X at @benyarthur.

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on X at @henrycmckenna. 

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