Micah Parsons Trade to Packers Assessed By Cowboys' Stephen Jones After Full Return From NFL Draft

The Dallas Cowboys are still confident that their Aug. 2025 trade of Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers put their team on the right track moving forward, per comments that executive vice president Stephen Jones made to Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio (h/t Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk).

"We feel really good about it," Jones said. "Obviously, much respect for Micah and what he stands for and how he plays and the caliber of player he is. At the same time, we feel good about what we've added via that trade. You look at a guy like Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark. They're alpha players, who are not only great players on the field, but they're leaders in the meeting rooms, how about they go about their business in the offseason. Just bring great leadership to this team.

"I just feel very optimistic that we have the right pieces in place. Ultimately, the decision we made was that one player is not worth four or five good ones, and we feel like that's where we're going to end up here in a good spot. We had that opportunity there. Didn't feel like we were one player away last year, but I certainly feel like we're putting the pieces together to give us an opportunity to go do what our fans deserve, what we want, which is to go and try to win the big trophy."

Dallas traded Parsons for defensive tackle Kenny Clark, a three-time Pro Bowler, and two first-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027. Parsons signed a four-year, $188 million extension with Green Bay.

The 2026 pick was 20th overall. Dallas traded down three slots with the Philadelphia Eagles this year and selected UCF edge-rusher Malachi Lawrence. The Cowboys sent a 2027 seventh-rounder but added two fourth-rounders in 2026 and selected Florida cornerback Devin Moore and Alabama defensive tackle LT Overton.

Dallas also made a big move last November to add a new defensive centerpiece without Parsons, taking Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.

As far as 2025 went, the Cowboys had the NFL's worst scoring defense, allowing 30.1 points per game. Obviously, the loss of Parsons played a big part there.

Meanwhile, Parsons dominated for Green Bay through 12 games, amassing 12.5 sacks and 27 quarterback hits en route to All-Pro First Team honors. Unfortunately, Parsons suffered a torn ACL in December against the Denver Broncos and missed the rest of the season. Green Bay lost its remaining four games (including playoffs) with Parsons out of the lineup.

The good news is Parsons is expected to be back "early in the season," per Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.

On the surface, it seems like the Packers have certainly got the better end of the trade.

However, the Cowboys have invested a lot in their defense (they also added linebacker Rashan Gary and safety Jalen Thompson this offseason, among others) and have a new defensive coordinator in Christian Parker, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles. So the Dallas D could make a turnaround in the post-Parsons era.

We'll see for certain later in 2026. The two teams are playing each other this season, though, with the Packers hosting the Cowboys on a to-be-determined date.