Micah Parsons by no means thought he would depart Dallas, not to mention land in Inexperienced Bay. However simply days earlier than the 2025 NFL season kicks off, the four-time Professional Bowler finds himself in a Packers uniform, reflecting on how a lighthearted Tremendous Bowl week change with quarterback Jordan Love all of the sudden grew to become actuality.
Again in February, Love joined Parsons on his podcast, “The Edge,” and joked that the move rusher ought to come to Inexperienced Bay. On the time, Parsons laughed it off.
Micah Parsons celebrating like loopy after signing with the Packers
“I do not assume it was ever a severe dialog as a result of I by no means thought I would be traded,” Parsons stated after his official introduction as a Packer. “However that is the tough actuality. Me and Jordan, we’re tremendous shut, having the identical agent. We have got an excellent relationship.”
That relationship, as soon as little greater than pleasant banter, now anchors one of many NFL’s impossible partnerships, and one of the impactful trades in latest reminiscence.
The Cowboys despatched Parsons to Inexperienced Bay in change for 2 first-round picks and veteran defensive deal with Kenny Clark, a package deal harking back to the Herschel Walker commerce that reshaped Dallas within the late Nineteen Eighties.
The deal was adopted instantly by Parsons signing a four-year, $188 million extension with $120 million assured, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league historical past.
For Parsons, the transfer got here as a jolt. He had lengthy envisioned himself as a “Cowboy for all times” and believed an extension with Jerry Jones was inevitable.
As a substitute, contract negotiations collapsed, with Jones reportedly refusing to work by way of Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta. By August, Parsons requested a commerce, and inside days, Inexperienced Bay made its daring transfer.
Inexperienced Bay’s win-now gamble
Inexperienced Bay enters the season recent off an 11-6 marketing campaign that ended with a playoff loss to Philadelphia.
The roster already appeared like a contender, however including Parsons, who has 52.5 sacks and 9 pressured fumbles in 4 seasons, raises expectations dramatically.
“Profitable means the whole lot to me,” Parsons stated. “I do not assume you are going to discover a extra aggressive individual on the crew or within the NFL.”
Head coach Matt LaFleur now has the type of defensive centerpiece who can alter sport plans. Lining up Parsons reverse Rashan Gary and behind a younger however bettering secondary may lastly give the Packers the steadiness wanted to problem the NFC’s elite.
Love’s tongue-in-cheek recruiting pitch throughout Tremendous Bowl week has now grow to be prophetic. When requested who he’d prefer to see be a part of the Packers, he checked out Parsons and stated, “I imply, the dude sitting proper subsequent to me.”
On the time, Parsons brushed it off with a smile. At the moment, the 2 are teammates, and Love is celebrating the acquisition that adjustments the complexion of Inexperienced Bay’s season.
The quarterback even posted celebratory emojis on social media after the deal was introduced. For Love, who guided Inexperienced Bay previous Dallas in final yr’s playoffs, the prospect to crew up with Parsons as a substitute of making ready to face him once more is a luxurious that would show decisive.
For Dallas followers, Parsons’ departure looks like the tip of an period. He was purported to be the cornerstone of the Cowboys’ protection for years to return.
However Jones, talking after the commerce, framed it as a essential transfer for the long-term well being of the franchise, very like the Walker deal a long time in the past.
“We have gained a Professional Bowl participant in an space we had huge considerations in, on the within of our protection,” Jones stated. “And we have additionally given ourselves quite a lot of flexibility with these picks.”
