The impossible happened. The Dallas Cowboys trade their best player to a conference rival. And not any ol’ rival. The Green Bay Packers of all teams. It feels like a nightmare and Cowboys fans will be forced to deal with the ramifications over the next several years.
It was a shock to see Micah Parsons get traded. And it was even more shocking to see how little they got in return. But why didn’t the Cowboys get more? And what should they have asked for? Well, that’s up for debate.
Cowboys focused on the wrong things in Micah Parsons trade
The Cowboys shouldn’t have traded Parsons. Period. That is the most obvious statement here. But it feels like the Cowboys made a calculated decision that with their current roster and Parsons, that they weren’t a Super Bowl contender this year. And rather than sink more money into a team that was projected to win 7.5 games during the 2025 season, they decided to cash in their chips for future flexibility.
On the surface, it’s not a terrible plan. Adding two more first-round picks, albeit likely in the 20s or 30s, in what many expect to be two great draft classes is a smart team-building strategy. The Cowboys have been in desperate need of a reset, and this trade helps get the ball moving.
But the problem is that the Cowboys made this decision too late. If Dallas really knew they were going to trade Parsons this offseason, they likely would have handled free agency and the draft differently. They could have been more aggressive in free agency, and they likely would have targeted a pass rusher in Round 1 (say Jalon Walker) or another defensive stud, rather than a right guard.
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Ignoring that part of it for a second, the Cowboys still messed up the trade package. However, we have to acknowledge that the Packers' offer wasn’t the best one available, but it was probably the only one they “could” accept. What do I mean by that? Despite not having a no-trade clause, Parsons held a lot of leverage when it came to trades.
There was just no way Parsons was going to sign a contract with a non-contender, and on the other side, there is no way a team would give up multiple first-round picks without knowing if he would sign a long-term deal. That likely limited the trade offers down to just a few teams, and that list was likely even smaller, considering most franchises didn’t have the cap space at this point in the year (another reason why he needed to be dealt earlier) to take back Parsons.
Once it became clear that the Packers were the team that Parsons would ultimately be dealt to, the Cowboys needed to prioritize picks and young players. When trading away a franchise player, the goal is to get multiple assets to help offset the trade. And the Cowboys (kind of) accomplished that. They received two first-round picks and a defensive starter in Kenny Clark. They also freed up some cap space that was saved for Parsons, which can eventually be used to keep existing players or add veterans in free agency.
However, Clark will turn 30 this year and there is a good chance that he is a one-and-done player in Dallas considering his current contract. Dallas should have demanded to receive players on rookie contracts (Edgerrin Cooper, Matthew Golden, Jordan Morgan, etc.) to help restart the new era in Dallas.
The Packers needed Parsons. He is the type of player they’ve desperately wanted and once it became evident that he wanted to play in Green Bay, Dallas should have asked for the moon. While Clark can still be a productive player this year, that doesn’t really matter much for the Cowboys, who are much more likely to finish in fourth than first in the NFC East. They should have prioritized more draft picks and/or young players who are on rookie contracts.
It's never easy to trade a franchise player, and it’s not a thing a team should get in the habit of doing. But this is objectively not enough for the best defensive player in the league going into his age-26 season.
They needed to acquire at least three assets that could help the team in 2026 and beyond, but they did not accomplish this goal. Yet again, the Cowboys have failed to understand the trade market (Jonathan Mingo, Trey Lance, etc.,) and it will be a move that costs them dearly.
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