Michael Irvin Blasts Jerry Jones, Cowboys for 'Dumb' Micah Parsons Trade to Packers

Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin is echoing a lot of sentiments fans have expressed after the team traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel (starts at 4:40 mark), Irvin blasted the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones for the "dumb" decision they made.

"This is a gamble The Gambler should not have taken," Irvin said of Jones. "My personal opinion."

The Cowboys sent Parsons to Green Bay in exchange for two first-round draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Parsons signed a four-year, $188 million contract extension with the Packers as part of the deal.

Jones' decision came after weeks of disconnect between himself and Parsons over the state of contract talks.

Parsons, in a statement released when he originally requested a trade on Aug. 1, explained he never interpreted his interactions with Jones as a formal negotiation and "informed Mr. Jones afterward my agent would reach out thinking this would get things done."

Jones was insistent that he had an agreement in place with Parsons when they had in-person conversations during the offseason and didn't want to include David Mulugheta, Parsons' agent, in the discussions.

Irvin drew a parallel between this situation and the one between Jones and then-head coach Jimmy Johnson that grew throughout the 1993 season before eventually resulting in Johnson leaving the Cowboys in March 1994 after leading them to back-to-back Super Bowl victories.

According to Irvin, Jones let this situation get personal in the same way that it did with Johnson. The Cowboys were able to win a Super Bowl with Barry Switzer as head coach during the 1995 season when most of the nucleus that Johnson built was still in place.

That remains the last time the Cowboys played in the NFC Championship Game. Parsons alone wasn't going to get Dallas back to that point in 2025, but it's certainly easier to imagine the Cowboys getting there with him than without.

Over the past four seasons, Parsons led the Cowboys with 52.5 sacks in 63 games. The next three players on the list have a combined 50.5 sacks during that span.