Commanders' NFC East rival just traded one of the best defenders in the league, and it heavily impacts their schedule this year

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Josh Taylor | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 8:58 PM ET

The unlikely just happened, and the Dallas Cowboys have just completed one of the biggest trades in recent NFL history. Jerry Jones has sent one of the best defensive players in the league in Micah Parsons, to the Green Bay Packers, and out of the NFC East.

The Washington Commanders are one of the many teams impacted by this league-rippling trade, and there are both positive and negative outcomes because of it.

The good news

The Cowboys sending the two-time All-Pro defender out of the NFC East means that the Commanders will NOT have to face him twice a year anymore. Parsons had 10.5 sacks in his eight career games against the Commanders since he entered the league four years ago. Parsons was one of the more difficult defenders to have to gameplan against, and the trade is still mind-boggling to think about, but a relief for the Commanders.

Breaking: Dallas Cowboys are trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, sources told @AdamSchefter.

Parsons and the Packers already have reached agreement on a four-year, $188 million contract. The contract includes $120 million fully guaranteed at signing and makes Parsons… pic.twitter.com/E82hyAokCA
— ESPN (@espn) August 28, 2025

This impacts the head-to-head matchups against the Cowboys every season, but also changes the NFC East odds this season. The Commanders should be the clear second-best team in the NFC East now, as the Cowboys will look to recover from this trade.

Of course, I wanted Parsons to reunite with his favorite coach, Dan Quinn, but him being out of the division is good enough for me. For as much as this trade benefits the Commanders, it also puts them in a pickle early in the season, at a terrible time.

The somewhat bad news

As exciting as it is that Parsons is out of the division, it's unfortunate that he had to stay in the NFC still, and go to the Packers, who the Commanders play this season. The Commanders start the season next Sunday at home against the New York Giants, but then they have to travel to you guessed it, the Packers....on a short week...for a Thursday night game.

Commanders vs. Packers Week 2 just got THAT much better

Michah Parsons and Jayden Daniels on @PrimeVideo will be a movie pic.twitter.com/v8ipqDXgui
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) August 28, 2025

Having to travel for an away game on a short week sucks, and having to face Micah Parsons on that short week sucks even more. It will be a trial by fire for the new-look offensive line for the Commanders, as they face a tough defensive line in the Giants, then take on Parsons and Rashan Gary the week after.

We will see in the first two weeks of the season how improved the offensive line is with Laremy Tunsil and rookie Josh Conerly Jr. or Andrew Wylie at tackle, and it'll be one of the biggest factors in the Commanders' record heading into Week 3.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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