Packers' Micah Parsons reveals most 'motivating' factor of controversial Cowboys trade

Green Bay Packers pass-rusher Micah Parsons was a key contributor for the second straight game as the club improved to 2-0 on the season via Thursday night's 27-18 win over the Washington Commanders. 

Following the victory, Parsons spoke with Kaylee Hartung of Amazon Prime Video about being traded by the Dallas Cowboys to Green Bay on Aug. 28.

Micah Parsons is now feeling the love

"There's nothing more motivating than when you find out that people you love don't truly believe in you and they thought less of you," Parsons explained, per Eva Geitheim of Sports Illustrated.

Thus far, Parsons has been worth the four-year, $188M contract that included $136M guaranteed he received as part of the trade that featured the Packers sending the Cowboys two first-round draft picks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark. In Green Bay's Week 1 win over the Detroit Lions, Parsons recorded three pressures and one sack while playing 29 of 65 defensive snaps. According to Grant Gordon of the NFL's website, Parsons tallied a team-high eight quarterback pressures and half a sack in only 44 snaps against Washington. 

"I don't think we make this type of move if we didn't believe we could do that," Parsons added about the trade, per Gordon. "Shout out to the organization for believing in me and thinking I could come in and make an impact. I just want to keep holding up this standard and level that they expected me to come in and play with."

Micah Parsons challenges teammates 

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the unbeaten Packers tied for second (with the Baltimore Ravens) among the betting favorites at +600 odds to win Super Bowl LX in February 2026. While speaking with reporters after Thursday's victory, Parsons repeated on multiple occasions that "defense wins championships." 

He also challenged his teammates to build upon what they have achieved since the afternoon of Sept. 7. 

"Best defense in the NFL, [that title] is earned," Parsons remarked. "It's early to say. The best defenses do it consistently. Consistency equals greatness. We had a great start, so I'm just happy about that. We can be a great defense. It's just up to us to continue to push and strive for that."

Green Bay next plays at the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 21. The 0-1 Browns face the 0-1 Ravens at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium this coming Sunday.