At 4 p.m. Thursday, Kenny Clark was at the grocery store getting ice cream for his 4-year-old daughter when he got a phone call. It was from Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.
“Just random, got the call,” Clark said.
On the other end, Gutekunst said that Clark was being traded after playing his first nine seasons with the franchise.
“Definitely was shocked, I didn’t really know what to say,” Clark said. “I thought I was going to be there for life.”
Less than 24 hours later, Clark and his family were stepping off of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ private jet onto the tarmac at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to begin the next stage of the three-time Pro Bowler’s career. It was a grand entrance for a player who will always be remembered as the tip of the iceberg on the return for the Cowboys dealing away four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Micah Parsons.
Clark arrives at a dire position of need. For the better part of the last decade, the Cowboys have exhausted their options in finding a reliable run-stopping defensive tackle in the middle of the line. From signing aging veterans such as Johnathan Hankins and Linval Joseph to swinging-and-missing on 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith, the luck had completely run out on finding a capable solution.
For the seismic trade to go down, Jones and the Cowboys were not coming away without solving that issue.
“I just got traded,” Clark said. “[The Packers] clearly didn’t want me. To hear, ‘This trade wasn’t getting done without you.’ That was awesome to hear that. … That made me feel wanted right there. I’m happy to be here. I’m blessed.”
While Clark gets up to speed on the team around him and a completely new playbook just six days before the season opener, one thing he is not concerning himself with is the perception from the outside. To him, there’s no added pressure in having to be the answer at defensive tackle or in being the piece that was acquired in a deal for one of the franchise’s top talents.
He is focused on what’s in front of him instead.
“That’s not my concern,” Clark said. “I’m just here to play football and be the best defensive tackle I can be.. … You’re getting a football player. You’re getting a dog and a guy that’s going to give everything. I love football. This is what I love to do. No nonsense, I just want to play ball.”
While the whirlwind of the biggest switch in Clark’s career could leave anyone with some vertigo, the 29-year-old is diving into work with the idea that he will play Thursday night against the Eagles.
“I’m going to try to learn the playbook as fast as I can, so I can just play as fast as possible,” he said. “I’m in shape. I’ve been practicing in Green Bay all camp. I didn’t miss no time. Whether it’s 30 plays, 50 plays, 20 plays, whatever it is, I’ll be able to play.”
In such a simple life moment with his daughter at the grocery store, having to turn to her and explain his getting traded wasn’t easy. She doesn’t fully understand and probably won’t for some years. But even in her innocence, her positive energy was on full display when the family landed in Dallas.
That’s how Clark knew it was home.
“She was like, ‘Oh, we’re going on vacation?’ ‘Nah, we’re still playing football. We’re just going a little bit away,’” he said. “My daughter is super shy, if you know her. When she met Jerry — she don’t want to shake no hands, she don’t want to fist-bump nobody — she ran right up to him and gave him a fist bump, handshake and has just been excited. That explains it in itself.”
Clark won’t have much time to dwell on the suddenness of the moment. He said he doesn’t feel sadness leaving Green Bay, although he knows it will always be a part of his story.
“It was tough,” he said. “You spend so much time in one place. You’re stuck in your routine, just everything. This just happened so fast. They tell you you’re traded, and the next thing you know Jerry is calling you to get on a plane. It’s my first time being on another team, so it just happened so fast.”
But as he looks forward, he expressed overwhelming appreciation to be in his current position. That is what will propel him into a 10th year in the NFL he never could have seen coming.
“Can’t really put it all into words,” he said. “It’s a surreal moment for me, for my family. … This franchise is going to get everything I got.”