Micah Parsons has been sorely missed by Cowboys defense, now he’s gone for good – Reid Hanson, Cowboys Wire
Sans Micah Parsons less is… well, less.
Micah Parsons’ days are done in Dallas. Following a tumultuous negotiation period, the Cowboys ultimately decided enough was enough and sent their star All-Pro pass rusher packing to the land of cheese, pine trees, and Chicagoland vacation homes.Cowboys fans overwhelmingly landed on the outraged side of the situation, calling Parsons a generational player and impossible to replace.
Looking at the Cowboys defense, it’s hard to argue to the contrary. Parsons hasn’t just been the best defender on the team, but he’s arguably been the best defender in the entire NFL. He’s been a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate who’s typically led the league in pass rushing efficiency.His impact isn’t just reflected in his own stat sheet, but stats across the defense.
The Cowboys’ defense has been overwhelmingly better with Parsons on the field because of the gravity he pulls. According to Bill Barnwell, the Cowboys are the top ranked defense in the NFL, by EPA standards, when Parsons is on the field. When he’s on the sideline, Dallas is the second worst. It’s something that’s not likely to change anytime soon because NFL defenses are trending in a direction that supports it. Look no further than the reemergence of 2-high coverages.
Over the past few years NFL defenses have moved away from the old. Seattle single-high model and towards a Vic Fangio 2-high scheme. Teams have found packing the secondary with coverage and placing shells over the top has been far more fruitful than filling all the gaps and crowding the line of scrimmage.
This coverage focused direction means fewer players rush the passer. That’s especially true for Matt Eberflus, Dallas’ new defensive coordinator. Eberflus doesn’t blitz often and when he does it’s only with one additional pass rusher. Like most of today’s coverage-focused defenses, he relies on the individual play of the four upfront to provide most of the pressure.
Schemes such as this make elite players extra valuable since they are reliant on winning individual battles. That’s why trading Parsons is such a head scratcher.Parsons was a player who demanded double-teams and still won. Without him those double-teams will fall onto the shoulders of players who struggled to just win their one-on-ones.
3 Dallas Cowboys Trade Targets after Micah Parsons move – Mark Heaney, Inside the Star
Who the Cowboys could add with the trade capital afforded to them after the Parsons trade.
Micah Parsons just exposed Jerry and Stephen Jones in the worst possible way -Luke Norris, The Landry Hat
Parsons reveals how Jones’ conducted bad business with him prior to the trade.
The long-running contract dispute between the Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons finally came to an end on Thursday, as Jerry Jones, who stated less than a week earlier that he had no intentions of trading his disgruntled superstar, did just that, shipping the four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher to the Green Bay Packers. In return, America’s Team received a 2026 first-round draft selection, a 2027 first-rounder, and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, whom Green Bay took in the first round of the 2016 draft with the 27th overall pick. Both players involved in the deal spoke with the media on Friday, with each explaining how they found out what had transpired.
Clark says he was getting his daughter some ice cream when he got the news. He admitted to being taken aback at first, but says it sank in when he got a phone call. “I was shocked, but once Jerry [Jones] and all those guys called me, Schotty and everybody, I just felt wanted. It’s a blessing, I’m appreciative of it,” Clark said. So, Clark gets a phone call that includes Jerry Jones, as he should, and that’s great. Parsons, meanwhile, had his introductory press conference on Friday for the Packers and was asked how he found out.
More specifically, he was asked if he had been informed by either Jerry or Stephen Jones, or if he had received the news from his agent, David Mulugheta, to which Parsons replied, “Pretty much all through David,” and simply shrugged his shoulders. So, no phone call from Jerry (or Stephen) for Micah. Yeah, that’s about right. I mean, so much of this saga over the last few months centered around the fact that there was no communication between the two sides for months.
So, why would anyone, especially Parsons himself, expect the end of said saga to be any different? As Parsons tells it, he and Jones met back in the spring to discuss leadership. As one would expect, the subject of Parsons’ contract extension came up, but Micah never felt that it was a formal negotiation and told Jones that Mulugheta would be reaching out to “get things done.” But when Mulugheta reached out, the Cowboys just didn’t respond. And things just got worse and worse from there. With the lack of communication and absolutely zero progress, Parsons ultimately requested a trade. And while both sides did plenty of talking in the media about the situation, they failed to do any talking with each other, at least not until things reached a boiling point.
Despite Jerry Jones’ shenanigans, the Cowboys emerge with a meaningful purpose – Dan Rogers, Blogging the Boys
A different look at the trade beyond the doom and gloom.
There was once a time when Jerry Jones was a big gambler. His risk-taking ways that made him millions in the oil business transferred over to his football decisions after buying the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. Moves to hire Jimmy Johnson, trade away Herschel Walker, and sign one of the biggest free agents ever in Deion Sanders helped Jones’ Cowboys win three Super Bowls in the ‘90s. All of this is well documented in the recently released Netflix series, “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.“
But over the years, some of that gamble left Jerry. After botched deals like the Joey Galloway and Roy Williams trade, he’s backed off quite a bit. No longer is he willing to sell the farm for immediate gratification, but instead, he’s taking a more patient approach and thinking long-term. Never was this more evident than in his latest move, on a day that will live in infamy for Cowboys Nation.
On Thursday, Jones traded All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for two future first-round picks and the services of defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The news comes after an entire offseason of this supposed contract negotiation gridlock that featured both sides folding their arms and holding their breath. Jones claimed that an offer was made to Parsons, but it wasn’t good enough and negotiations with Parsons’ agent never followed. They expected him to play under his fifth-year option.
Parsons played back at them. He did not practice during training camp, and he publicly asked for a trade. Whether it was a “call me” hand gesture when fans yelled “come to Baltimore” or lying on a trainer’s table hopelessly counting the bolts in the rafters of AT&T Stadium, Parsons created the illusion that he had checked out. He constantly said his back didn’t feel right, while computer-generated radio waves of his body showed otherwise.
To the outside world, it looked like a fractured relationship that was headed for an ugly divorce, but little did we know, the Cowboys had already filed the divorce papers. According to Jones, the team has been considering trading Parsons all offseason. He reiterated that this wasn’t a decision that was a reaction to what the public viewed as a failed contract negotiation. Instead, it was a calculated decision that they felt would make them a better overall team. We’ll get to that in a minute, but what do we make about all this Hollywooding Jones was doing regarding Parsons?
All summer, we’ve heard things like “Micah is a remarkable talent,” or “There’s no chance we’re trading Micah,” or “We’ve got three years to work this thing out,” or “Nobody appreciates Micah more than me.” All of this was phony bologna. He wasn’t sending a message to reassure fans. It was a complete smoke job to maintain Parsons’ trade value to the outside world despite it falling within the organization. It was an acting performance that rivals the remarkable job he did in the TV show Landman. Give that man a Golden Globe!
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