The Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons were direct with every move they made in negotiations before the franchise and player parted ways via a blockbuster trade involving the Green Bay Packers on Thursday.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports that the two were straightforward and did everything by design. Cruel to be kind.
“The first thing most folks do in the aftermath of a mega-trade like the one that went down Thursday—sending Parsons from America’s Team to the Packers in exchange for two first-round picks and DT Kenny Clark—is assign blame. Certainly, both the Cowboys, all the way up to ownership, and Parsons played roles in the conclusion everyone came to, one week before Dallas’s opener in Philadelphia. You could see, in real time, reflection over that,” Breer wrote.
“But what I don’t think you’ll see next is either side, at least for the time being, thinking this was all some mistake. The Cowboys’ handling of the negotiation, for better or worse, followed a pattern of Dallas’s last few big ones. And everything on Parsons’s end—from his disinterested demeanor in sweats on the sidelines at camp, to carrying nachos into AT&T Stadium, then laying on a training table in-game last Thursday—was taken as intentional.”
The unfortunate reality of the Cowboys organization is that Jerry Jones has been cruel for so long, but has spent too much money on the wrong investments, time and again.
Ezekiel Elliot, CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott. Even Jaylon Smith. Just since 2019.
Now, they’re losing a productive player like Parsons, who has the chance to make Jones look foolish in Jeff Hafley’s defense – which ranked fifth in the league last year without him. Continuity is a good thing in football. Green Bay has plenty of it, and now has an EDGE rusher who’s effective in just about any package.
If Parsons doesn’t reach the loftiest heights in Wisconsin to make Dallas look bad, all it will take is one more player to thrive after leaving the Cowboys to further fuel the Jones hatred in the media and among football fans. Cowboys fans included.