Some thoughts on the Packers stunning acquisition of Micah Parsons:
A move like this, a big swing so uncharacteristic of the way the Green Bay Packers usually do business, is an indication that Brian Gutekunst knew that his team was not quite good enough to realistically compete for Super Bowls. When the 2025 roster was finalized after the Tuesday afternoon cutdowns, you could examine the roster, position by position, in great detail. It was a solid team. No glaring weaknesses. A young team but not an inexperienced one. A young, potentially star quarterback was in place. One of the league's best running backs behind him. A tight end ready to break out into stardom, a squadron of pretty good, but not great, receivers, bolstered by an exciting first round draft pick.
A defensive line that was showing signs of improvement. A budding star at linebacker in Edgerrin Cooper, an all pro safety, and a so-so cornerback room. Put it all together, and this team figured to be good. Pretty good. But not great. Not championship caliber. Probably not able to overcome the other top teams in the conference, just as they couldn't last year. In 2024, Green Bay won eleven games. They finished as the seventh and final seed in the NFC. They were good. They were not great.
Good was good enough in 2023, when Aaron Rodgers had departed, and the team was rebuilding with Jordan Love taking over. Expectations were low. The Pack finished 9-8. Made the playoffs. Even upset the Cowboys in the post season and took the Niners to the wire. They were good. They were not great.
Good was even good enough last year. The record was improving. Eleven wins. But 2-6 against playoff teams. A convincing loss to the Eagles in the first round. Glaring vulnerabilities in the pass rush. Greatness eluded them.
We saw it as fans. And though they would never admit it publicly, the front office and the coaching staff certainly saw it as well. To take the next step, there had to be a big move. A big swing. Gutekunst saw the opportunity to take the biggest possible swing. A chance to acquire the best defensive player in the league.
To us, the decision might have seemed like a no brainer. Go for it, man. But for Gutekunst, he knew the acquisition would come at a tremendous price. Not only will Green Bay not draft in the first round for the next two springs, but they give up Kenny Clark, a three time All Pro, and one of the locker room leaders. A guy every human being on the team looked up to and respected. The move also essentially cripples all salary cap flexibility for at least the next two years. That's a heavy price to pay. The kind of earth shattering move that can cost you your job if it fails.
Then again, they call it Titletown around here. The Super Bowl trophy is named after our legendary coach. The standard is championships. Barely squeaking into the playoffs and then getting run out quickly was not going to continue acceptable. Perhaps Gutekunst could see, over the long haul, he wouldn't keep his job that way either. Ultimately, he went for it. Made the biggest decision of his eight year general manager career. Now he may well lay in bed at night asking himself questions, such as, were the Packers really just one superstar player away from the Super Bowl? Can a defensive player really make that kind of a difference on a team?
Give him credit. It took cahoneys to pull this trigger. Sometimes big swings work, as it did for the Rams when they brought in Matthew Stafford and won a Super Bowl. As it did for the Packers themselves upon signing Reggie White. Sometimes big swings fail miserably, as it did for the Browns when they traded the farm and emptied the bank vault for Deshaun Watson. Being an NFL general manager is not for the faint of heart.
For now, I say thanks Gutey. Thanks for taking the excitement and anticipation of the coming season to an astronomically higher level for us fans. If it all goes down in flames, I respect your guts and dedication to win championships. But if you and Matt Lafleur are holding the Lombardi trophy over your head in February, maybe you should get your own statue out there, right next to Vince.