Micah Parsons Trade Reportedly Wasn't Eyed by Jerry Jones, Cowboys Before NFL Draft

Despite the outcry that the Dallas Cowboys should have traded Micah Parsons prior to the 2025 NFL draft if they weren't going to sign him, the club wasn't looking to trade the star pass-rusher at that time.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Don Van Natta Jr., Cowboys owner Jerry Jones "did not explore trade talks involving Parsons before the draft" in part because he was still optimistic about working out a long-term deal with the 26-year-old:

"Although Jones would later say the team began discussing the idea of a Parsons trade in the spring, Dallas did not explore trade talks involving Parsons before the draft, per a Cowboys team source. For one, the contract negotiations were still fresh and the team harbored hope of Parsons accepting the previously discussed deal. The Cowboys also prefer to do trades postdraft when they believe other teams are less inclined to cling to personnel. The Pickens deal reinforced that philosophy."

The Cowboys received first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, as well as defensive tackle Kenny Clark, from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Parsons in a deal finalized on Aug. 28.

There were many criticisms of the trade from the Cowboys' perspective, not least of which was trading him to a team within the same conference that was already regarded as a Super Bowl contender.

Given how volatile the NFL can be, it's always risky to assume any team is going to be great before we see them play a game.

Remember how much flak the Houston Texans got for trading away a 2024 first-round draft pick to the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 3 pick in 2023 that was used on Will Anderson Jr.? Anderson is a cornerstone player in Houston who has helped the franchise win back-to-back AFC South titles. The Texans' pick that went to Arizona wound up being No. 27 overall the following year.

However, even if the Cowboys want to be hopeful about at least one of their picks landing very high in the draft, the Packers have never won fewer than eight games in a season with Matt LaFleur as head coach.

Since 2020, the Packers' highest draft position was No. 15 (2023). They swapped first-round picks that year with the New York Jets as part of the Aaron Rodgers trade.

Even if Jones didn't think the Cowboys were going to trade Parsons in late-April, there would have been no harm in at least shopping him around to see what type of offers opposing teams would have made for him.

If you're putting arguably the top pass-rusher in the NFL who is only 26 on the trade block, every team will be running to make a competitive offer. The Cowboys could have reasonably landed a top-10 pick in this year's draft to add a player who can help them win in 2025 if they had taken this approach.

Instead, Jones once again dragged his feet on contract talks with a star player and approached the negotiations in such a manner the player decided to ask out. The Cowboys got rid of arguably their best player for a package headlined by two draft picks that they will hope can turn into a player whose talent can come close to matching what they just gave up.