{"id":326005,"date":"2025-08-29T08:01:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T08:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/326005\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T08:01:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T08:01:13","slug":"cowboys-trade-micah-parsons-to-green-bay-packers-for-kenny-clark-draft-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/326005\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys trade Micah Parsons to Green Bay Packers for Kenny Clark, draft picks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Cowboys are no strangers to tough negotiations<\/a>, but the one with star pass rusher Micah Parsons seemed to drift further and further into uncharted waters as time went on. It finally reached a docking point on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers<\/a> for two first-round draft picks (2026, 2027) and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, the Cowboys announced shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a sad day, but not a bitter one,\u201d Parsons wrote in a post on social media<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget the joy of draft night, the adrenaline of running out of the tunnel, or the brotherhood I shared with my teammates, coaches and the staff who prepared me for every single game. Those memories are mine forever.<\/p>\n

Cowboys<\/p>\n

Be the smartest Cowboys fan. Get the latest news.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNorth Texas will continue to be my home in the offseason. I\u2019ll still be here, giving back to the community that gave me so much. And no matter where the next chapter takes me, the bond we\u2019ve built will never break. Thank you, Cowboys Nation, for every cheer, every moment, and every ounce of love you showed me. Wearing the star has been the honor of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parsons and his agent, David Mulugheta of Athletes First<\/a>, quickly agreed to terms on a four-year, $188 million extension with the Packers, the agency announced Thursday. The deal included $136 million guaranteed, making Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.<\/p>\n

There was a point where it seemed inevitable that the Cowboys would hit that historic marker themselves with Parsons.<\/p>\n

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Parsons met in March where a negotiation sparked.<\/a> Jones said he \u201cmoved off his mark\u201d a couple of times in the negotiation, but the two eventually agreed to terms that would\u2019ve resulted in an extension. The problem then and the problem throughout this tumultuous offseason: Mulugheta wasn\u2019t included. <\/p>\n

Jones said he tried to send the details of his agreement with Parsons to Mulugheta, but Mulugheta said that agreement didn\u2019t matter because Jones had yet to negotiate with him. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, they never did. Parsons announced a request to be traded Aug. 1<\/a>. He said he personally delivered it to Cowboys co-owner Stephen Jones. Less than a month later, the Cowboys obliged that request. <\/p>\n

\u201cI really like Micah. I appreciate the four years we had him here,\u201d Jones said during a Thursday evening news conference at The Star in Frisco<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s a great player … there\u2019s no question that I could\u2019ve signed him in April. To have agreements, all parties have to agree. This was by design … there\u2019s not an ounce of vindictiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Jones said Thursday evening the Cowboys have considered the idea of a trade for months, the possibility picked up recently. Parsons was seen during Friday\u2019s preseason finale against the Falcons laying down on a trainer\u2019s table. While it was brief, it was notable. <\/p>\n

Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said earlier this week<\/a> that he and Parsons talked about the sideline conduct along with multiple other topics over the course of an hour-long conversation. Within that conversation, however, Parsons didn\u2019t assure Schottenheimer that he would play in the season opener against the Eagles on Sept. 4. <\/p>\n

Schottenheimer also said earlier this week that Parsons had been cleared to return to practice, setting the stage for a potential stand-off when the team returned to practice on Friday. Parsons didn\u2019t practice all of training camp due to back tightness, he said. He even had an MRI exam recently with the Cowboys that came back \u201cclean.\u201d Parsons then reportedly sought a second opinion from Dr. Robert Watkins in Southern California. <\/p>\n

Both sides, it appeared, were dug in. The standstill looked like it could linger into the season, where Parsons faced the possibility of missing games.<\/p>\n

By Thursday afternoon it was clear the Cowboys were open to listening to other trade offers. By Thursday evening, they had heard enough. <\/p>\n

Jones said Thursday the trade was in the best interest of the team in the future \u201cand this season,\u201d he emphasized.<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Jones also indicated that they were selective when it came to their potential trade partner. They went down the list of teams and their respective players and limited their options to teams that fit three criteria: they had to have cap space to take on Parsons, they had to exist outside of the NFC East, and they had to have a defensive tackle that could help the Cowboys stop the run. <\/p>\n

The Cowboys do have some depth at defensive end. They used second-round picks in each of the last two drafts to select Marshawn Kneeland and Donovan Ezeiruaku, an All-American last year at Boston College. They signed veteran Dante Fowler Jr. in free agency. They have high hopes for Sam Williams in the final year of his rookie contract. <\/p>\n

Clark, a former first-round pick, even helps fill a need at defensive tackle for them.<\/p>\n

But replacing Parsons won\u2019t be easy to do. He\u2019s been a Defensive Player of the Year finalist in three of the past four seasons. Only four other players had more sacks at the time they turned 26 than Parsons, who currently sits at 52.5. He\u2019s already on a Hall of Fame trajectory. Now, he\u2019ll continue it away from Dallas.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s trade is also a shocking deviation from how things have previously gone with the Cowboys. Tough negotiations normally turned into big paydays. The last time they traded a superstar of this caliber was when they traded Herschel Walker in 1989. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an every-year conversation,\u201d quarterback Dak Prescott said in training camp. \u201cWhether it\u2019s myself, Zack Martin, CeeDee Lamb, now Micah Parsons. It\u2019s part of it in a sense. It\u2019s something that I wouldn\u2019t wish anyone was going through. Absolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite that, both Prescott and Schottenheimer indicated optimism recently that it would end well. They both were confident Parsons would be on the field against the Eagles in Week 1. <\/p>\n

Earlier this offseason, Parsons pulled a joke on his teammates and Schottenheimer by calling them and wishing them goodnight. Schottenheimer, none the wiser, had a genuine response to the social media trend. He told Parsons he was handling his tough contract negotiation with the Cowboys well and that both sides would get through it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to see where we take this thing,\u201d Schottenheimer told Parsons. \u201cWe\u2019re building something special and you\u2019re going to be a huge part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Months later, Parsons is no longer part of it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI never wanted this chapter to end,\u201d Parsons wrote on Thursday, \u201cbut not everything was in my control. My heart has always been here, and it still is. Through it all, I never made any demands. I never asked for anything more than fairness. I only asked that the person I trust to negotiate my contract be part of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys are no strangers to tough negotiations, but the one with star pass rusher Micah Parsons…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2072],"tags":[2009,230,257,7,41,345,2514,2513,491,6,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-326005","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-green-bay-packers","8":"tag-brief","9":"tag-cowboys","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-green-bay","13":"tag-green-bay-packers","14":"tag-greenbay","15":"tag-greenbaypackers","16":"tag-micah-parsons","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-packers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115111008126741648","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}