Eagles’ secret Micah Parsons plan would’ve been Cowboys’ nightmare

The Philadelphia Eagles officially begin their Super Bowl title defense against a bitter rival who just did one of the most foolish things any NFL franchise has done in recent memory. But, lost in translation of all the Micah Parsons trade fallout is a strong connection to the Eagles.

Before the Dallas Cowboys traded Parsons, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Eagles did, indeed, pursue a Parsons trade:

"Philadelphia called Dallas to try to acquire Parsons, but the Cowboys had no interest in trading the two-time All-Pro pass rusher within their own division -- especially to the rival Eagles."

Well, alrighty then. Maybe you've heard this and maybe not. But, the biggest overarching takeaway here is pretty obvious.

Eagles' reported pursuit of Micah Parsons would've sent Cowboys fans into their own personal hell

The Eagles were trying to acquire Parsons while they essentially didn't have the finances to make it work.

But, that just goes to show how relentless Howie Roseman is in his roster building and strategy.

The Eagles currently have roughly $18 million in cap space for 2025 and that number only goes up to $24 million in 2026. So, how on earth would Roseman have done it? There is no way he could have justified such a move, especially considering the extensions on the horizon.

Philadelphia has a couple of future deals they need to think about, but none more important than Jalen Carter, who is undoubtedly going to break the bank. The money Carter is going to earn on his extension will likely make him the highest-paid defensive tackle in the league.

The Eagles are already investing a ton of money into Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley on the offensive side. Carter is currently slated to have the highest defensive cap hit in 2025 at just $5.9 million.

That number is going to skyrocket very soon. And, Parsons' annual average of $47 million would have already been difficult to absorb. Think about what the Eagles would have had to do with Carter ... quite frankly, they wouldn't have been able to pay him.

The Eagles likely would have sacrificed a Carter extension in favor of landing Parsons. Now, fans might feel one way or another about that, but regardless, that type of sacrifice would have sent Cowboys fans into a total tailspin.

Imagine being a Cowboys fan and seeing the Eagles go out and get Parsons at all costs -- quite literally.

Yikes. That would've hurt.

In any event, Parsons is no longer in Dallas, so the Eagles can be thankful on that front.