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Parsons Traded: Cowboys Attempt to Stop the Bleeding

Originally posted on The Forkball | By IW Moon | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 1:57 PM ET

The shock of the Micah Parsons trade likely hasn’t fully set in yet for many Dallas Cowboys‘ fans. So, let’s rip off that Band-Aid. Micah Parsons is a Green Bay Packer. He immediately signed a four-year, $188 million contract with the Packers. That made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

The whole contract negotiation, or non-negotiation with the Cowboys was way past ugly, gearing towards hideous. The future was an abomination.

Jerry Jones was supposedly holding the threat of a 2026 franchise tag over Parsons. And Parsons was allegedly seeking a second opinion on a negative MRI scan. GM Jerry bypassed the agent who shall not be named. Said agent told Jerry to shove it. The list goes on. Those are back-alley negotiations. The whole world seemed against Jones on this situation, even if there was murky water all around.

Let’s be honest. Aside from Parsons being in the same conference, trading him for two first round picks and a three-time Pro Bowler in the form of Kenny Clark was probably one of the best deals the Cowboys were going to get. And he’s not playing for the Eagles, so there’s that.

Welcome to Dallas, Kenny #DallasCowboys x @KCBoutThatLife

: https://t.co/gw6K4BVc7k | @blockchain pic.twitter.com/Yzyb2J2mIm
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) August 28, 2025

It was already a massive unavoidable distraction going into the season opener, which just happens to be an important division game against those same Eagles. That distraction was possibly going to be two seasons in the making. Hopefully we can all just focus on football now.

A Huge Opportunity

So, what does this mean for the Cowboys? This is a huge opportunity for likes of Dante Fowler Jr. and Sam Williams. Before an ACL/MCL injury kept him out for the 2024 season, Williams had shown great promise.

There will need to be an adjustment to Brian Schottenheimer’s play calling and scheming. Though we never got to see them in form, those would have obviously been tilted towards using Parsons in the most advantageous way possible.

Parsons was as much an emotional leader as he was a fantastic player. The loss of the one-man wrecking crew is unequivocal. But the emotional energy he brought hadn’t been seen since the days of Dez Bryant. The two of those features leaving together in the same body is a gut punch for fans and a potential mountain to climb for the front office. That is, if they deem it necessary to replace that emotional energy. Instead of scrambling, they may just as well may take it for what it is and carry on.

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This article first appeared on The Forkball and was syndicated with permission.

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