Troy Aikman explains why he is ‘not a fan’ of Micah Parsons trade: ‘I didn’t think it was a possibility’

As the fallout continues from the Micah Parsons trade, a Dallas Cowboys legend weighed in. Troy Aikman said he didn’t think the move was “a possibility” before Parsons headed to the Green Bay Packers last week.

As he assessed the trade, Aikman said time would tell as to whether the Cowboys or Packers will come out of it better. On the surface, though, he is “not a fan” of how Dallas did.

Aikman explained his surprise on The Rich Eisen Show, acknowledging Jerry Jones’ comments about possibly exploring a trade before this year’s NFL Draft. But, like Jones, he also drew parallels to the Herschel Walker trade while explaining why the picks will matter in the end.

“I was surprised,” Aikman said. “I didn’t think it was a possibility that he was traded. Obviously, everybody’s followed it. We’ve heard Jerry’s comments on what went into that. I know that Jerry has said that they talked about possibly trading him back before the draft. My guess is that all these teams, they have to talk about what value they might get for any player. So I’m sure there were a lot of conversations with regards to potential trades with a lot of the players on that roster. I guess we’ll know in time, quite honestly, as to whether or not it was a good trade on the Cowboys’ behalf, whether or not the Packers benefitted the most from that.

“I think the key to it – much like all the conversation that has been around this Herschel Walker trade, especially with the Netflix doc and Jerry mentioned it when he announced the trade – it’s not so much the picks. It’s what you do with the picks. So time will tell as to who benefitted most, just like it did when we made the trade with Herschel and the Minnesota Vikings. But at first glance, I’m not a fan of the trade.”

Troy Aikman: ‘These types of players are really rare’

Micah Parsons was seeking a long-term contract with the Cowboys that would also make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. Conversations began in the spring and stalled ahead of training camp, leading to Parsons’ public trade request last month. Things continued to go south, and it ultimately led to the blockbuster trade.

In the process, the Packers paid up for Parsons. He got the contract he was looking for – a four-year deal worth $188 million, including $136 million in total guarantees. To Aikman, it could help make Green Bay a bona fide Super Bowl contender, much like the Charles Haley trade did with the Cowboys in the 1990s.

“These types of players are really rare, and you’re looking for guys that can rush the passer,” Aikman said. “With those draft picks, they’ll be looking for someone just like Micah and then ultimately, you come down to the same thing of having to try to work out a contract.

“We’ll see how that looks, but it could very well be something that I think pushes the Green Bay Packers over the top, much like the trade when we acquired Charles Haley back in 1992.”