Often, when you trade away the best player in the trade, you lose the trade.
That's what the Dallas Cowboys might be staring down the barrel of. They traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, and he looks like a motivated superstar.
These words are being written before Parsons even completes his second game with Green Bay. He just got a sack of Jayden Daniels on the same play he drew a holding call, and the flag didn't even matter, because Parsons got there anyway.
Everyone knew he was the best young defender on the planet. Jerry Jones still didn't pay him.
The Packers gladly did, to the tune of $47 million per year.
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They also gave up veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark and a pair of first-round picks. Those picks give the Cowboys a chance to recoup some serious future value.
But they won't have Parsons.
And sometimes, that's all that matters in an evaluation like this.
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Parsons has made all the pass rushers around him better.
He also forces other teams to dictate their pass protection specifically to him, and that makes it easier for Green Bay to know exactly how they're going to be blocked.
And this is just game two, on a short week. Parsons doesn't even know the whole defense yet.
He already looks like everything the Packers could've wanted. He looks like the player who can give them a dominant defense and a legitimate chance to win the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys certainly don't look like a Super Bowl contender. And why would they be, after trading away Parsons?
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