Published in Newsweek September 29, 2025
Reprinted with permission
By Hunter Simpson
The biggest move of the NFL’s 2025 offseason came in the last week as the Dallas Cowboys dealt superstar defensive end Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in a blockbuster trade that shook up the NFC.
Micah Parsons #1 of the Green Bay Packers . They played aginst Dallas Cowboys in NFL football game, Sept. 29, 2025 (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The Cowboys received two first-round picks plus defensive tackle Kenny Clark, and Parsons got the monster contract he was looking for, signing a four-year $186 million extension.
Despite starting the season looking like the best defense in the league, the Packers have struggled over the last two weeks, and in their 40-40 overtime tie against the Cowboys on “Sunday Night Football,” they were getting picked apart.
Parsons was dealing with a back injury and even left the game to go to the medical tent for a moment, but even prior to tweaking his back, he wasn’t exactly playing great. He did make a game-saving sack on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in overtime, which prevented a would-be touchdown.
Jerry Jones Sends Mixed Messages on Parsons
After the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones paid Parsons a few compliments while discussing his performance against his former team.
Dax and former teamate, Parsons after the the game tie 40-40. Sam Hodde/getty image
“He’s an outstanding man who played very well tonight, and we played very well tonight,” Jones stated. “…I know it made it another punctuation point us playing Green Bay for him to have been traded up there, but again, we didn’t necessarily settle anything on the trade. I like what we got, and I’m sure Green Bay likes what they got.”
Jones drafted Parsons with the 12th overall pick in the 2021 draft, and he turned out to be one of the best defenders in football during his Cowboys tenure. Parsons’ departure from Dallas was abrupt, and it seemed like he wasn’t on great terms with Jones, who refused to pay him.
On the other hand, however, Jones said that the reason he decided to re-sign Prescott over Parsons was that he viewed him as “indispensable,’ implying that Parsons was never a priority despite being one of the most highly-regarded players in the NFL.
Jones’ decision to trade Parsons was highly criticized when it happened, and it could go down as one of the more questionable decisions of recent history if Parsons wins a Super Bowl with Green Bay before Jones wins one with Prescott.
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