Cowboys Micah Parsons Trade Torched as ‘Irrational,’ ‘Disaster’
The year 2025 has been a big one for shocking trades in United States pro sports. It began in the NBA on February 2, when the Dallas Mavericks traded their superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Next it was Major League Baseball’s turn. On June 15 the Boston Red Sox traded their All-Star slugger, the highest-paid player in franchise history Rafael Devers, to the San Francisco Giants.
Now, on Thursday, it was time for the NFL’s contribution to the trend of one-sided, superstar trades. The Dallas Cowboys dealt disgruntled, four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, receiving first round draft picks in 2026 and 2027, as well as nine-year veteran nose tackle Kenny Clark, a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
Feud Between Jerry Jones, Parsons Goes Back 18 Months
The trade is already getting torched online by NFL experts.
The Packers owned the 23rd pick in this year’s draft and, especially with the addition of Parsons, expect to improve on their 11-6 record in 2024 — meaning that the draft picks they have now shipped to Dallas are likely to come late in the first round in both upcoming years.
Parsons and Cowboys owner/de facto general manager Jerry Jones had been locked in a standoff over a contract extension for the three-time All-Pro since February of last year, with Parsons saying he hoped to become a Cowboys player “for life.”
Situation Never Showed Progress
But the situation never really progressed and only deteriorated, taking on a personal tone between the owner and superstar player, who was the Cowboys first-round draft pock, 12th overall, in 2021 out of Penn State.
The two sides grew so far apart that the conflict became unresolvable, leading to the blockbuster trade, called “one of the most impactful in NFL history,” that ended the Micah Parsons era in Dallas after just four seasons.
The results did not sit well with the experts.
NFL Experts React — Not Well
“On the bright side, Cowboys fans,” wrote former Cowboys offensive lineman Ross Tucker Thursday, “now you can use those two LATE first round picks on guys that won’t be close to as good as Micah Parsons.”
Fox Sports host Colin Cowherd said that the trade amounted to throwing in the towel on the 2025 season for the Cowboys, in a reaction posted to his social media accounts.
“Dallas is acknowledging, ‘We’re not a Super Bowl team. It’s rebuild time,” Cowherd said. “They’re fourth place in their division. I think they’ll have a top-eight pick, now maybe worse. The defense is bad with Micah Parsons. Without him? Guaranteed to be atrocious.”
‘RIP Cowboys,’ Declares One Commentator
Frank Schwab, senior writer for Yahoo! Sports, wrote that Jones’s “ego got in the way. And it cost the Cowboys their best player.”
Glenn Ordway, longtime Boston area sports radio icon, had even stronger words for the Cowboys owner.
“After watching the Dallas Cowboys documentary on Netflix this irrational trade today by Jerry Jones makes sense. He’s impulsive and self righteous,” Ordway wrote, referring to the documentary America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys that debuted on the streaming service last week. “And that’s why this trade will be a disaster for the team formerly known as America’s Team. RIP Cowboys.”
Perhaps The Ringer NFL Show podcast put it most succinctly, posting, “NO ONE IN DALLAS IS OK.”
Shedeur Sanders’ Future With Browns in Jeopardy After Latest Mock Draft Projection
The Cleveland Browns selected two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft, but that won’t stop them from taking another in 2026.
Cleveland is expected to be near the bottom of the standings again with Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback. Despite the team still having Deshaun Watson under contract and Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders as rookies, one insider expects them to use their first-round pick in 2026 on a franchise quarterback.
NFL insider and analyst Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic projects the Browns will have the second overall pick and will select LaNorris Sellers from South Carolina.
“So much of this depends on what we see from the 20-year-old Sellers this season. He had some very nice stretches in the pocket as a sophomore last season, though, while remaining dangerous in the open field— and difficult to tackle at 6 feet 3, 242 pounds. He has youthful habits to iron out, but Sellers has the tools to be a star at the next level,” Baumgardner wrote.
Sellers would take over the Browns’ starting quarterback and could push Sanders off the roster. Sanders is already the third-string quarterback, so he would once again be in a competition for a roster spot.
Sanders was selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Browns. He will be inactive on game days as the third quarterback.
Sellers Compared to Former Browns Rival QB
Sellers has gained a lot of momentum as a potential early pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, entering the college football season.
The South Carolina quarterback has expectations of leading the Gamecocks to the College Football Playoff. After Week 1 of the season, former NFL quarterback and now analyst Dan Orlovsky compared Sellers to former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
“Because he is Big Ben, but fast,” said Orlovsky. “He’s 6’3”, 235 pounds. A tremendous athlete, but the ability that he has shown to throw the ball downfield has grown. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in football,” Orlovsky said.
If Sellers has a career like Roethlisberger, it would be a solid one, as Roethlisberger played 18 seasons in the NFL, all for the Steelers.
He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion and six-time Pro Bowler.
Sanders Was Confident He’d Make the Browns
Entering training camp, Sanders was in a competition for a roster spot.
Cleveland had four healthy quarterbacks in Flacco, Gabriel, Sanders, and Kenny Pickett competing for three spots. The Browns ended up trading Pickett away, meaning Sanders made the roster, but he didn’t think it was a question of whether he would make the roster.
“Obviously,” Sanders said to NFL Network’s Bridget Condon. “I think overall as a player, I feel like I’ve put in the work. I feel like everything I do, I try to do it to my best and that’s all you can ask for, I feel like everybody feels like they should be on the team. If you ask anybody on the team would they feel like they belong, they belong in they own eyes. I feel like I do, but I’m my own player. I think about myself in a high regard.”
Despite making the roster, Sanders will serve as an inactive throughout the season.
