Look, Jerry Jones can spin it however he wants. But, the fact of the matter is, the Dallas Cowboys' trade of Micah Parsons will go down as one of the all-time blunders this league has ever seen. Trading Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for a pair of first rounders and a player past his prime who's nearly 30 years old was one for the ages.
There is so much to be said about why this move was a foolish one, but ESPN's Bill Barnwell hits the nail on the head with his latest insight:
"Over the last four years, the Cowboys are the league's best defense with Micah Parsons on the field by EPA per play.
Across a 1,039-play sample, they're the league's second-worst defense over that same stretch by EPA per play when Parsons isn't on the field," he wrote.
Micah Parsons leaves the Cowboys as one of the league's worst defenses
So, Jerry really saw a guy who was arguably the best defensive player in the game in terms of his overall impact, and traded him. We're talking about a single player who affects the game so much that his defense gives up the least amount of estimated points on a per-play basis.
And, Jerry traded him.
When you consider that the Cowboys finished last season as the no. 28 overall defense, in terms of yards given up, and that Parsons played in 13 games, this looks even worse. If the Cowboys defense was that bad with Parsons for most of the season, can you imagine this unit without him?
Sure, you can talk all you want about injuries like Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, among others, but Parsons was still out there plenty.
This Cowboys defense finished 2024 giving up the second-most points in football. Now, you look at the unit without Parsons and, who do they have? Who is the game-wrecker to step in and take his place?
There is no one, period. Even the thought of trying to replace Parsons with one of these future first-round picks is a silly one. You cannot bank on finding someone to take his place. He was the sure thing, and now, this defense is left looking barren.