By Saad Yousuf, Jon Machota, Matt Schneidman and Dianna Russini
The Athletic has live coverage of the Micah Parsons trade.
The Dallas Cowboys have traded star edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys announced on Thursday.
In exchange, Dallas will receive Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark and first-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027 from Green Bay.
Parsons, 26, is entering his fifth season in the NFL after being drafted by Dallas with the No. 12 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Cowboys host the Packers on Sunday Night Football on Sept. 28 at AT&T Stadium.
We have completed a trade to receive a 2026 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and Pro Bowler DT Kenny Clark from the Packers in exchange for Micah Parsons.
🗞️: https://t.co/7Hiwb2Nilj | @blockchain pic.twitter.com/NED5bHcHYT
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) August 28, 2025
Why Packers made the bold move
On the eve of the 2018 NFL regular season, the Packers lost out to the Bears for Khalil Mack, whom Chicago acquired from the Raiders for a king’s ransom. In his first year as general manager, Brian Gutekunst showed a willingness to take a big swing for an edge rusher in the prime of his career. Seven years later, with his job potentially on the line under new team president Ed Policy, Gutekunst pulled out his driver once again for a similar move.
There are two players in league history with at least 12 sacks in their first four seasons: Micah Parsons and Reggie White. White is one of six players with his number retired on the Lambeau Field facade. Parsons will now call home the same stadium that one of the best players ever did.
While the Packers gave up a three-time Pro Bowler and their longest-tenured player in defensive tackle Kenny Clark, they retained their No. 1 edge rusher (now No. 2) in Rashan Gary.
Gutekunst himself said Green Bay’s pass rush was too inconsistent last season. It’s part of the reason head coach Matt LaFleur fired defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich and replaced him with former Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington. LaFleur also said that before defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s first season calling the defense last year, he envisioned the Packers generating pressure on the quarterback by rushing a traditional four (like the Eagles effectively do). Instead, the Packers weren’t able to and Hafley resorted to crafting exotic pressures with linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, safety Xavier McKinney and others to cause havoc.
Now, the Packers should have an easier time generating pressure with four and dropping the typical seven into coverage (like LaFleur wanted last year) with Parsons and Gary coming off the edge, even if losing a healthy Clark up the middle is a big blow. That means more responsibility now falls on fourth-year defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, a 2022 first-rounder whose fifth-year option the Packers exercised in May, and 2023 Day 3 picks Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden. Two rookie defensive tackles from Georgia, sixth-rounder Warren Brinson and undrafted signing Nazir Stackhouse, also made the Packers’ 53-man roster. — Matt Schneidman
A stunning decision by Cowboys, Jerry Jones
This is a stunning trade by the Cowboys because Jerry Jones just doesn’t make these types of moves. Jones falls in love with star players and doesn’t let them leave the building in their prime. The other part is that Jones has become so conservative over the last decade that everyone just assumed he’d do what he’s done with every other star player — eventually give them a new massive contract. But maybe his recent Netflix documentary “The Gambler” got him feeling nostalgic and looking to make a big splash. This would qualify.
Jones has always wanted credit for the Herschel Walker trade. That one set up the Cowboys’ dynasty run of the 1990s. Maybe that’s his hope here. Two first-round picks and Clark are far from what Jones got for Walker, but it’s still very bold.
This deal is also surprising because no team has been a bigger thorn in Jones’ side over the last 15 years than the Packers. They ended the Cowboys’ seasons in 2014, 2016 and 2023. Dallas’ best shots at making a deep postseason run. Definitely not the team anyone thought Jones would send his team’s best player. — Jon Machota
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)