The Detroit Lions may have to deal with one of the best defensive players in the NFL during Week 1, with just over a week’s notice.
The Green Bay Packers acquired three-time All-Pro defensive end Micah Parsons in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, following a public contract dispute between Parsons and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
The 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year requested a trade earlier this month after beginning a holdout with no long-term deal in place with the Cowboys and public frustration with the lack of progress between the team and his agent.
The Packers are reportedly sending two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark in the trade and will ink Parsons to a four-year, $188 million deal that will keep him around the NFC North for the next few seasons.
A $47 million average salary makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
The Lions have faced Parsons before in 2022 and 2023, where he totaled 12 tackles and two sacks across the matchups.
In his first four seasons in the league out of Penn State, Parsons has recorded at least 12 sacks every year. Former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson called Parsons a “game wrecker” ahead of their 2023 matchup with Dallas.
“Yeah, (Parsons) moves around quite a bit. I think that’s kind of their advantage with him is they can move him around,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said in 2023. “They can put him off the ball, they can put him on the ball, stand him over the middle. So, yeah, they do a bunch of stuff with him. He’s a dangerous player, he’s a great player, he can do a hell of a lot and we’ve got to be aware of where he’s at.”
Parsons hasn’t played or practiced at all during the offseason with the Cowboys, so there is the chance he’s not ready to suit up for the Packers in Week 1.
But the Lions are probably going to have to be prepared for him and will certainly expect him in their Nov. 27 matchup against Green Bay.
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