Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys actually did it. They traded edge rusher Micah Parsons, dealing him to a contender in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers.

Why Bump is surprised by Seattle Seahawks roster decision

NFL voices had been talking about a hypothetical trade involving Parsons for months, but that escalated on Aug. 1 with Parsons announcing that he’d submitted a trade request.

But that doesn’t mean people expected it to happen. They’d seen this before.

Last summer, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb ended a training camp holdout after getting a massive deal from Dallas. Not long after, the Cowboys ended speculation that they’d move on from quarterback Dak Prescott by signing him to a four-year, $240 million extension, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history.

Surely, they’d do the same for Parsons, right? At just 26 years old, he was their single best player on defense and one of the best defensive players in the league. He was just the second player in NFL history to rack up 12 or more sacks in each of his first four seasons, with the other being Reggie White. From the outside, this seemed like a very easy decision.

Before we get to what it means for the Seattle Seahawks, what happened in Dallas?

Ego, maybe? Who knows why Jerry Jones makes the decisions he does, but two things became clear from comments he made before and after the trade.

First, Jones appeared to think a deal was done informally between him and Parsons, and didn’t appreciate Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, being involved. In his trade request, Parsons’ story is this: After 2024, he told Mulugheta to ask for negotiations to begin but Mulugheta cautioned him to wait. Parsons didn’t want to. In March, Parsons had a meeting with Jones that was supposed to be about leadership, but Jones brought up the contract. The main issue seems to be Jones thinking a deal was done here and Parson and his agent pushing back.

Jones had taken a few shots at Parsons publicly before the trade. Afterwards, he implied Parsons was a liability against the run and the team was better off moving forward without him.

Should the Seahawks have traded for Micah Parsons?

I mean, sure. Parsons is one of the best defensive players in the league and would be a massive boost for a Seattle team looking to fight past the Los Angeles Rams and win the NFC West. Two first-round picks and a player is a lot in a trade, but it’s a bit less than most expected Dallas to get (most proposals also included a second-rounder) and the Seahawks have been willing to make blockbuster trades before, having given two first-rounders to the New York Jets for safety Jamal Adams in 2020.

The Seahawks getting Uchenna Nwosu back from injury is massive, and Seattle has two promising young edge rushers in Boye Mafe and Derick Hall. But adding an elite Pro Bowl talent to the group would massively lift that ceiling for an already exciting defense. There’s an admittedly complicated dynamic between Parsons and his former Cowboys teammate DeMarcus Lawrence — that’s a real factor to consider — but it wouldn’t be the first time teammates weren’t fond of each other. And let me tell you, teams will put up with a lot of headaches for talent and championships.

That the Seahawks didn’t trade for Parsons speaks to either (or all) of the following factors: general manager John Schneider didn’t want to give up that many picks and immediately give a player a massive deal (he’s spoken on the record about that mistake before); the Seahawks really believe in the team they have and don’t want to disrupt that chemistry or the growth of young players; or (this one’s a little spicier) they don’t know that they’re quite as close to being in a Super Bowl window.

How far away are the Seahawks from the Super Bowl? And who is close?

Add the Packers to an early list of Super Bowl favorites in the NFC. This is worse news for a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, who get Parsons out of their division but will see a much stronger team competing with them for the top seed in the conference (and who they will play on Monday Night Football in November). The Seahawks aren’t playing the Packers in the regular season and just have to worry about getting past the favored Rams this time in the West.

That said, the Packers clearly felt they could compete for a Super Bowl and have had a relatively aggressive offseason (including drafting a first-round receiver for the first time in 21 years) to show that.

Can the Seahawks compete to win the NFC? Would adding Parsons have made them a Super Bowl favorite?

It’s hard not to look at the key difference between these two teams being massive questions at quarterback for Seattle. The Seahawks’ defense is facing high expectations. Adding offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is an upgrade over an inexperienced OC.

The Packers had some real depth concerns with their pass rush and weren’t a perfect team, but the real difference here — bluntly — is that they do have a franchise quarterback in Jordan Love. Seattle doesn’t, and while they’re high on Sam Darnold, they also gave themselves a pretty easy way out after this year in his contract.

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has always said you’re never really one player away, but it’s probably easier to feel you are when the most important player on the roster isn’t under center.

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