Trade grades: Evaluating the Micah Parsons blockbuster

Jerry Jones has truly outdone himself this time.

The Dallas Cowboys owner sent shockwaves through the football world Thursday when he put an end to the Micah Parsons standoff by sending the superstar pass-rusher to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for two first-round picks and veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark.

It's one of the most stunning (and unnecessary) NFL trades we've ever seen. Let's break it down from both sides.

Cowboys

Just when you thought Jones couldn't possibly be any worse at his job, he reaches back for a little something extra. You really have to feel for Cowboys fans at this point.

Keeping Parsons in Dallas shouldn't have been a complicated endeavor. He wanted to be there, and he's been willing to sign for well over a year. There was even a point where he said he didn't need to top $40 million per season. A fair and timely deal was seemingly all it would've taken to secure Parsons' future with the team that drafted him.

Even when things devolved to the point of him publicly requesting a trade, it turns out there was still an opportunity to find a solution. Parsons revealed to NFL Network's Jane Slater that he and his agent went back to the Cowboys to discuss an extension. At that point, he says, the team told him to either play out the final year of his rookie deal or leave.

As always, Jones insists on doing things his way. In the past, dragging out negotiations with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb only cost him money. The cap ramifications were incredibly damaging to the team's roster-building efforts, but at least he eventually got the stars signed. This time, he's taken the incompetence to new heights and chased away one of the best players in football.

It seemed inevitable that the Cowboys would attempt to sell this move as some sort of big win for the organization. Sure enough, Jones rambled for 10 minutes after the first question he fielded at a post-trade press conference Thursday, talking about how Dallas needs to stop the run and hypothesizing that the draft picks could turn into Pro Bowl players.

Anything is possible, but what are the odds that two late first-round picks and a veteran defensive tackle ever come close to matching the value of a 26-year-old superstar who has the ability to single-handedly elevate an entire defense?

To wit: The Cowboys' defense posted a league-best 0.08 EPA/play over the last four years with Parsons on the field, according to TruMedia. That number drops all the way to -0.05 in snaps without him, good for last in the NFL. A quick look at their depth chart drives home the case laid out by the numbers: This defense is certifiably cooked without Parsons.

There is simply no world in which the Cowboys didn't understand this. Most teams can only dream of having a player like Parsons in his prime. Extending him at whatever price the market demanded should have been the layup of all layups. Instead, the owner opted for his own version of the Luka Doncic deal.

Jones seems to enjoy the fact that the Cowboys are always in the news. He sees it as good for business. But is that really a positive when the reason is your team becoming a laughing stock? At some point winning - which is also good for business - has to become the priority.

Grade: F

Packers

A new Super Bowl contender has officially entered the chat.

The Packers had previously been lingering on the periphery, with questions about the defense keeping them a clear step below a tier of front-runners in the Eagles, Chiefs, Ravens, and Bills. This is the type of move that can make it a group of five.

Parsons is the most explosive pass-rusher in the game. He's posted no fewer than 12 sacks in each of the four seasons since being drafted in 2021, and he leads all edge defenders in pressures (330) and pressure rate (20.3%) over that stretch, according to PFF.

That constant and unparalleled disruption lifted up an otherwise mediocre Cowboys defense over the last four years. It's easy to dream on the possibilities that come with adding that kind of talent to a Packers defense that quietly finished the 2024 campaign tied for fourth in EPA/play. Factor in the playmakers and coaching chops that make the Packers so dangerous on the other side of the ball, and we may now be looking at one of the NFL's most complete teams.

The other interesting part of this trade is just how much of a departure it is from the way Green Bay usually does business. The Parsons blockbuster marks the first time the Packers have traded away a first-round pick since they acquired Brett Favre back in 1992. This front office has also long maintained a conservative approach to non-quarterback contracts, typically avoiding any sort of guarantees beyond the first year. Parsons' extension breaks all the club norms on that front, too.

His reported four-year, $188-million deal blows away the non-quarterback market at $47 million per season and includes $136 million guaranteed. For reference, Jordan Love got $160.3 million in guarantees when he signed his four-year, $220-million extension last summer.

Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned for the Cowboys here. The Packers have a way of doing business, and they almost always stick to it. Crucially, though, they're willing to make exceptions for special cases. Parsons fits that description.

A willingness to be bold is exactly what fans should be demanding of their teams when they have a chance to win. The Packers, a clear-cut contender who just so happen to have the league's youngest roster, picked the perfect time to go all-in.

There's a real chance that they have another Lombardi Trophy to show for it sooner than later.

Grade: A+

Dan Wilkins is theScore's senior NFL writer.