There's No Way the Lions are Trading for Micah Parsons Even if the Cowboys Make Him Available

Landing Parsons would be a dream scenario for Lions fans. His addition would arguably give the Lions the most dangerous pass rush in the NFL and would launch their defense into elite status.

Unfortunately, it just doesn't feel even a little bit realistic.

Brad Holmes said months ago that the Lions couldn't afford Za'Darius Smith.

That has made a Trey Hendrickson trade seem very unlikely despite the star edge rusher's ongoing contract issues with the Bengals.

If those two were too expensive, then I don't know how you would describe Parsons.

The cost to acquire him will be astronomical if the Cowboys were to actually trade him.

First is the cost of the trade. The obvious comparison to make is when Khalil Mack was traded to the Bears. That cost the Bears two first rounders, a third, and a sixth and they got back a second and a seventh along with Mack.

Parsons is more than a year younger right now than Mack was at the time of the trade.

On top of the trade haul that would be required to land Parsons, he's not going anywhere without a new contract signed. His next contract will be the most expensive at his position. That would put him at a cost of over $40 million per year.

All of that together is way more than the Lions can afford. It's also way more than they've shown any inclination to spend this offseason.

There's also the looming factor that they haven't actually payed Aiden Hutchinson and I would think an extension for him would have to come before they commit to a major investment in somebody not on their roster.

It would be awesome to see a defense that features Parsons and Hutchinson on the edges terrorizing opposing QBs, but the Lions just aren't a team that will part with the draft capital that would be necessary to get a deal done and the obligations they already have would make it impossible to fit Parsons' salary long term.

For those reasons, let's not get anybody's hopes up about this one.