After several tweets and unexpected turns, the Micah Parsons trade saga came to an end when the Dallas Cowboys sent the All-Pro pass rusher to the Green Bay Packers in return for a pair of first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Along the way, the Boys showed the Jacksonville Jaguars how not to handle the upcoming contract talks with Travon Walker.
Parsons wanted a new contract, but the Cowboys didn't want his agent to take part in negotiations. Eventually, the former Penn State requested a trade, but Dallas owner Jerry Jones thought it was a bluff. It wasn't, and he relented eventually.
You could make the case that this was a win-win situation as the Cowboys got a pair of premium draft picks while Parsons got the extension he wanted. However, Jerry Jones deteriorated their relationship just because he wanted to show the four-time Pro Bowl nod that he was in control.
Simply, Jones let a potential Hall-of-Famer get away because he didn't bend his knee. And was it worth it? The Jaguars learned firsthand when they traded Jalen Ramsey that it's never good to antagonize your franchise player just because he doesn't get in line.
Like the Cowboys, Jacksonville got two first-round picks (and a fourth) in exchange for Ramsey, but if you ask them, they'll probably tell you that it wasn't worth it.
While Ramsey has gone on to win a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams and enjoy a fruitful career, the Jaguars are already in their third regime (fourth if you count Doug Marrone) since they traded him. And this takes us to Travon Walker.
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The Jaguars must make Travon Walker their priority
The Jaguars didn't hesitate to pick up Trevon Walker's fifth-year option. All things considered, it was a no-brainer because he's had a combined 20.5 sacks the past two years. Couple that with the fact that he's expected to break out in 2025, and his combined cap number of $27 million the next two years will be a bargain. Of course, the more the team's brass wait to pay him, the more they'll have to fork out.
Already, three pass rushers make an annual average of $40 million or more. Micah Parsons' new deal pays him $44.5 million per year. Granted, Walker isn't in the same echelon as him, Myles Garrett, or T.J. Watt. However, he's a promising pass rusher in his own right, and the Jags had better make sure they lock him up if they don't want to lose him in 2027.
Now, the Jags still have plenty of time to pay Walker, but the one thing they must avoid is disrespecting him the way the Cowboys did with Parsons. If they really value him and see him as a franchise cornerstone, they cannot make him a lowball offer or antagonize him during negotiations.
The good news is that a competent general manager is seemingly running the show in Jacksonville, so it's highly unlikely that the Travon Walker negotiations will reach Jerry Jones levels of dreadful.
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