Whether or not the Dallas Cowboys should've traded Micah Parsons is a question that could take years to answer.
But one thing that is more certain in the immediate is that there was actually an unintended benefit to the Cowboys with the way the whole contract and trade saga played out.
ESPN's Dan Graziano pointed this out in some new analysis on Thursday morning, ahead of the Cowboys' season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. The key: Parsons wasn't on the field all summer.
Parsons didn't stay away from the team entirely, but he conducted a hold-in, present but not practicing. He also dealt with a back injury that prevented him from being on the field even if he wanted to be.
That means that all summer, Dallas was using players other than Parsons in major roles.
"Dallas coaches would point out that they had already begun building their defense without him in training camp, as he didn't participate," Graziano writes. "The Cowboys believe their defense is in a good place in terms of learning the scheme. There's skepticism around the league, but I don't think anyone is writing them off completely. When (Dak) Prescott has been healthy, they've generally been a playoff team."
MORE: Why the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons to the Packers
In the same ESPN piece, Jeremoy Fowler notes that Sam Williams, Marshawn Kneeland and Donovan Ezeiruaku are all talented edge rushers from recent drafts that could make a big impact without Parsons.
"The roster has talent," Fowler writes.
Yes, there's a Parsons-sized gap even if that was also true in camp. But the Cowboys did fill an interior weakness by getting DT Kenny Clark in return.
The trade might not age well. But at least the way Parsons handled his business this summer gave the Cowboys a chance to start prepping for life without him before he was actually gone.
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