Micah Parsons was an hour late to his own news conference.
The star edge rusher had to pass his physical, sign his contract and meet some of his new co-workers. It’s a big day for Parsons and the Packers.
Parsons said he did not expect to be traded by Dallas but was happy to land in Green Bay.
“Honestly everything happens for a reason,” Parsons said Friday, via video from the team. “It’s a blessing in disguise. . . . I’m going to work hard every day to prove the Packers organization made the right decision in trusting in me. I’m going to carry that with me.”
Parsons said he had no say in where he landed after the Cowboys decided to trade him.
“I didn’t have any say,” Parsons said. “I would say I’m pretty lucky, because I understand the rich history of the Packers. The fact that they had interest in me and understanding that they had a pretty tough team already in the NFC, and I was pretty much geared up to play them looking for revenge. Now, I’m on the other side of adding to this rich history. I’m ready to play with these to suit up and play. I’m very excited.”
The trade, which sent Kenny Clark and two first-round picks to the Cowboys, was a win-win for the Packers and Parsons.
The Packers have acquired a generational pass rusher, who joined Reggie White as the only players ever to have 12 sacks in each of their first four NFL seasons. Parsons received his generational pay day, signing a four-year extension that has a five-year total base payout of $210.034 million, with up to $2 million in incentives/escalators.
Now, Parsons will try to do for the Packers what White did for the Packers four years after he signed with the team.
“Winning is everything to me,” Parsons said. “I don’t think you’re going to find a more competitive person. . . . So when you talk about winning on this stage and what it takes, I haven’t been there. I don’t know what it takes. But I’ve got a funny feeling that this program does. They went further than us, and obviously had a big win against us. I trust coach [Matt] LaFleur, and I really feel like we can do it. I really want to win real bad.”