Green Bay Packers LB Micah Parsons.
Getty
Green Bay Packers LB Micah Parsons was their second choice behind Trey Hendrickson.
On August 28th, the Green Bay Packers sent shockwaves through a lifeless-at-the-time NFL news cycle when they worked a trade with the Dallas Cowboys for linebacker Micah Parsons. They sent two first-round draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark to Dallas and then signed Parsons to a four-year, $186 million contract extension, $136 million of which is guaranteed.
Before the deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network says that the Packers looked into trading for Cincinnati Bengals disgruntled defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
“The Packers first set their sights on a trade for Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, sources say, before they pulled off the blockbuster trade of the offseason when they acquired star Micah Parsons from the Cowboys,” Rapoport writes. “The Packers are among the teams that called and engaged the most with Cincinnati on a potential trade for Hendrickson this offseason, with an initial offer made for last season’s sack leader.
“In fact, standout defensive tackle Kenny Clark would also have been involved in the trade had the two sides come to an agreement, though Green Bay was not willing to part with him at that point in the process.”
Interest in Trey Hendrickson shows Packers wanted to improve pass rush desperately
Most people that watched the Packers fall to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs last year believed that the Packers needed improvement. It’s true, but with all of the injuries and lackluster play on offense, it was assumed wide receiver was the big problem.
And, truthfully, it was. But, the Packers addressed that in the draft when they took University of Texas standout Matthew Golden in the first round. Still, they felt they needed to improve the pass rush as well to get to the next level and now they have Parsons.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk agrees.
“That the Packers were also looking into Hendrickson shows how serious they were about making a big splash to improve their pass rush — and how confident they are that they were one good pass rusher away from being among the NFL’s elite,” Florio writes. “They ended up getting that one pass rusher in Parsons.”
Since the Packers gave up a king’s ransom for Parsons, it’s fair to wonder what they were willing to give Cincinnati for Hendrickson.
Things eventually worked out for Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals
The Bengals, of course, eventually got Hendrickson signed. They didn’t get some big extension that he was looking for, but they did give him a $14 million pay raise for 2025, which allows him to be a free agent after the season. That’s quite a bit of can-kicking for the Bengals, who will just have more problems to solve at that point.
As for the Cowboys, owner Jerry Jones went on CNBC Thursday and explained that the math didn’t work with Parsons, even if that’s a colossal raft of garbage.
“If you look at what his numbers are in terms of his compensation over the next five years… and then you look at those draft picks that we got, and you look at what those numbers could pay to other players, you’ll see about five of maybe the very best players as you can get in the NFL, for what one gets in Micah,” Jones told CNBC’s Michael Ozanian.
For the Bengals, all is well for now. They kept their 17.5-sack defender and everything will be great unless they start of the season with a Week 1 loss to the Cleveland Browns.