Dallas Cowboys fans can count on Jerry Jones for two things - well, maybe three: pinching pennies in free agency, throwing stars he signed to market-setting contracts under the bus, and, apparently, trading away arguably the best pure pass rusher in franchise history.
Micah Parsons is still a hot topic in Dallas after he dominated in the Packers' win over the Commanders on Thursday Night Football. Parsons completely wrecked Washington's offensive game plan, which has become standard for the former No. 12 overall pick.
Jones was asked about the trade during his Friday weekly on 105.3 The Fan, and predictably weaved Dak Prescott into the conversation. While Jones stopped short of throwing Prescott under the bus, he made an eye-opening statement that would get most general managers fired.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' latest Dak Prescott statement proves he's lost the plot
“This (trading Parsons) was the best way to maximize our chance to get a Super Bowl for Dak," Jones said.
Here is Jones' full quote, via Tommy Yarrish of the team's website:
"This was a very conscious trade to get three, four, five, six players for one. The one player? Outstanding. He’s an outstanding player. But we should be able to get, as a matter of fact, we’ve got one on the field. And of course, people say ‘But he’s no Micah.’ Well, I’m not going to debate that at all because Micah is very, very special. But I’ll tell you this right now, by the time this happens, and as we look forward to Dak’s time, when we made his contract and we look forward, this was the best way to maximize our chance to get a Super Bowl for Dak."
It gets worse with each interview. If you were to poll all of the quarterbacks who have a game-wrecking defensive player on their team, all of them would beg their GM not to trade said player.
By Jones' logic, though, Patrick Mahomes must be banging on Andy Reid and Brett Veach's door to trade Chris Jones to maximize his shot at a Super Bowl. Similarly, Matthew Stafford has to be spamming Sean McVay and Les Snead to shop Jared Verse. You can copy and paste with Josh Allen and Ed Oliver, or Lamar Jackson and Kyle Hamilton.
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That is complete insanity. While trading Parsons will help the Cowboys improve the middle of their top-heavy roster, that could've been accomplished without sending Parsons to Green Bay.
Beyond functioning like a normal team in free agency, they haven't gotten a worthwhile return on investment on numerous high-to-mid-round draft picks in recent years. Dating back to 2020, the year CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs were drafted, that list includes Mazi Smith, Luke Schoonmaker, Kelvin Joseph, Nahshon Wright, Neville Gallimore, Jalen Tolbert and Sam Williams.
That’s exactly why it feels hollow — and frankly, insulting to fans’ intelligence — for Jones to claim the Cowboys are getting three or four players in return for Parsons as justification for trading him. Even if the two first-rounders from the Packers turn into solid players, the trade won’t be worth it unless at least one becomes Ring of Honor or Hall of Fame caliber.
It is complete and utter nonsense for Jones to say that trading away one of the 10 best players in the world maximizes Prescott's Super Bowl window. The Cowboys are a worse team without Parsons, and it's impossible to trust this front office to make good use of the resources obtained by trading him.
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