Micah Parsons won’t be playing for the Eagles any time soon.
The Cowboys effectively ended any chance of that when they traded Parsons, the three-time All-Pro edge rusher, to the Packers in August. Parsons signed a four-year contract with Green Bay worth $188 million, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
But just to be sure Parsons wouldn’t land in Philadelphia in the near future, a “poison pill” clause was added to the blockbuster trade between Dallas and Green Bay.
The previously unreported condition states that if the Packers trade Parsons to a team in the NFC East then Green Bay would owe Dallas its 2028 first-round pick, according to ESPN‘s Adam Schefter.
The poison pill condition was also used on Kenny Clark, who, along with two first-round picks, was sent from Green Bay to Dallas in exchange for Parsons. If the Cowboys trade Clark to a team in the NFC North, they would owe the Packers their 2028 first-round pick.
ESPN reported the poison pill conditions “clearly and smartly were put into place to block Parsons from winding up in Philadelphia.” The conditions apply to this season and 2026, meaning the Packers don’t have a real path to trading Parsons to the NFC East, if they wanted to, until 2027 at the earliest.
Earlier this year, ESPN reported that the Eagles made a strong push to acquire Parsons amid stalled contract negotiations with the Cowboys. Dallas had no interest in dealing the four-time Pro Bowler within their division to one of their biggest rivals.
When those contract negotiations stalled, Parsons had two teams he wanted to be traded to: the Packers and the Eagles, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Parsons is a Harrisburg native who starred at Penn State. A Pennsylvania homecoming, much like Saquon Barkley’s, would make sense at some point in his career.
But Dallas made sure it won’t happen any time soon.
Parsons and the Packers face the Eagles on Monday Night Football in a clash between two of the NFC’s best teams. Philadelphia and Green Bay will kick off at 8:15 p.m.
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