Like you, I’d been following the Micah Parsons saga closely. The steam over the past few days identifying the Packers as potential suitors had me daring to dream. However, the thing about dreams is that eventually you wake up. That’s when you face the sober reality that the Green Bay Packers just don’t make earthshaking, seismic moves like this.
Until they did.
It’s the most stunning trade in the 100-plus year history of Packer football. The Brett Favre trade will always be more consequential and franchise-altering, but we sure didn’t know it at the time. This deal feels more like the team’s two previous pivotal defensive acquisitions: Reggie White and Charles Woodson. Those free-agent signings brought generational talents to Green Bay, but both were on the other side of 30 when they arrived. I probably don’t need to remind you that those two Hall of Famers also led the Pack to Super Bowl titles.
I was on record that I was all for a deal that might cost a couple of No. 1s and a starter. I figured if they made a deal, they’d likely ship Lukas Van Ness to Dallas to restock its pass-rush group. Jerry Jones made it clear in his press conference that he wanted a player who would impact his team’s putrid run defense. You also know that he felt it was crucial to acquire a player with multiple Pro Bowls to his name to help sell the deal to his fanbase.
Losing Clark is not nothing. He’s the only proven nose tackle on the roster, and someone will need to step up to impact the run defense and allow Edgerrin Cooper and Quay Walker to do their thing behind him. Undrafted rookie Nazir Stackhouse is really the only guy beefy enough to handle the job, but that’s a lot to ask of “Big Sleepy.” We’ll see what Jeff Hafley has up his sleeve.
Parting with Clark will help the bottom line this season — he counted more than $10 million against the cap, but he leaves with dead money that will be on the books next season. He also departs as one of the team’s best and most dependable defenders of the past decade, and his voice in the locker room will be missed.
Usually, when blockbuster deals like this are made, the team acquiring the superstar gets the early buzz, but, years later, the team that acquired the draft picks comes out looking pretty good. Just look at the three most recent examples: Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears, Laremy Tunsil to the Houston Texans, and Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns.
But none of those players brought with them the sparkly résumé that Parsons boasts. At 26, he’s just entering his prime and is a consensus top-three defensive player. Plus, he brings the singular piece that was missing from the roster to Hafley’s defense: a dominant, game-changing pass rusher who will allow the defense to be less dependent on playing zone and relying on exotic blitz packages to impact the quarterback.
Gone are the days of teams doubling Rashan Gary. Now Van Ness can be a rotational piece and not a guy counted on to make a major leap in Year 3. If he does, all the better. Hafley will find a way to have all three guys out there on passing downs.
Green Bay’s roster has been criticized for lacking elite talent. Parsons and his $47 million annual price tag end that narrative. Along with Xavier McKinney and Edgerrin Cooper, the team will have studs on all three levels.
Isn’t it refreshing to see the Pack push their chips to the middle of the table? The league’s youngest team already featured a top-10 offense and defense from a year ago, and the expectation was that several of those young players were poised to take a leap in 2025. Parsons’ presence gives the defense a chance to be a top-five unit and impacts the trajectory of guys like Devonte Wyatt, Quay Walker, and LVN.
Parsons and Love are the same age, share the same agent, and are the fulcrums of a team that will be hunting Super Bowls for at least the next five years together. The window is wide open. After the trade went down, the Pack’s Super Bowl odds went from 22-1 to 13-1. The Pack is now the betting favorite to win the NFC North.
It’s impossible to know whether new team president Ed Policy had his fingerprints all over this massive decision. However, we know that Gutey and LaFleur are nearing the end of their deals and are being evaluated by a new boss. For the GM, ditching the organization’s draft-and-develop’ mantra to take a swing like this is bold and almost impossible to second-guess. Now the coach needs to bring the young thoroughbred up to speed and meet his team’s lofty expectations.
The Packers have announced that they’re all in. Now all they have to do is show they belong when they face the likes of the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. With Love on one side and Parsons on the other, there are no excuses. The expectation should be nothing less than a spot in the NFC title game. The Eagles lost their OC and five defensive starters. The Lions lost both coordinators and their Hall of Fame center. The conference is there for the taking.
The team knew this and did something about it. Did they ever.