Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones’ Bold Parsons Gamble Already Backfiring on Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys thought they were building for the future. Instead, they may have just sacrificed their present. When Jerry Jones signed off on trading away All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, he insisted the move was about balance, discipline, and financial flexibility. But as Week 1 played out, the echoes of that gamble were already haunting Dallas.
Jones defended the decision by pointing to Parsons’ weaknesses against the run and the massive financial weight of his looming extension. The Cowboys owner argued that shipping Parsons out for two first-round picks and veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark allowed the team to strengthen its interior defense and reallocate money to other rising stars. To Jones, the trade was a strategic move, not a retreat.
Parsons, now in Green Bay, signed a staggering four-year, $188 million deal with $136 million guaranteed — the richest contract ever for a non-quarterback. The Cowboys, meanwhile, entered the season opener believing they had improved their run defense. Instead, they were gashed by Philadelphia in a 24-20 loss, leaving fans to wonder whether Jones’ master plan was a miscalculation from the start.
Even former Cowboys insiders admitted their shock. “Micah Parsons truly transformed the entire defense,” former coach Jason Garrett said. “I was stunned when they let him go.” Michael Irvin, once adamant Parsons would never be moved, has also backtracked, admitting the star linebacker lost something intangible despite his record-breaking deal.
Critics around the league have not held back, labeling Dallas as a “poverty franchise” more concerned with financial maneuvering than competing for championships. The comparisons to the Herschel Walker trade of the late 1980s — the deal that jump-started a dynasty — have been thrown around. But unlike that historic haul, this version carries no clear path to a Lombardi Trophy.
For Jones, the defense remains simple: Parsons was a luxury the Cowboys couldn’t afford. But for a fan base desperate to end a three-decade Super Bowl drought, watching the Eagles exploit Dallas’ supposed defensive upgrade felt like a cruel twist of irony.
The Cowboys didn’t just lose their opener. They lost the benefit of the doubt. And as Micah Parsons shines in green and gold, Jerry Jones will have to live with the consequences of a gamble that may define his legacy.
Packers’ Colby Wooden Fires Back at Critics After Dominant Run Defense Performance
Micah Parsons, a contrarian opinion had taken hold, too–the Packers defense would get chewed up in the running game.Three days before the Packers were to play the Detroit Lions in their 2025 opener, defensive lineman Colby Wooden got a phone call. It was his father. While much attention had been foisted on the Packers in recent days after the stunning trade for pass-rusher
The Packers had to trade away stalwart defensive lineman Kenny Clark to acquire Parsons, and the feeling was, that would be costly in the team’s efforts to handle the run. Detroit, after all, rushed for 2,488 yards last season, sixth in the NFL. Without Clark, surely the Packers would be in trouble.
Wooden, who is helping replace Clark in the middle, took the call from his dad, who said, “Do me a favor, shut ‘em up.”
And he, along with the entire Packers defensive front, did just that, holding the Lions to 46 yards on 22 carries, their lowest rushing output since Week 6 in 2023. Wooden, Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks held the line admirably in the middle all day for the Packers.
Colby Wooden: ‘I Took That Personal’
Wooden, for one, was insulted by the questions about the team’s inability to hold against the run.
“I for sure took that personal …” Wooden said. “So I just, did my job, went out there, stopped the run. I took it personal. Honestly, I felt like it was kinda disrespectful, like, ‘Oh, they gonna run the ball.’ So I made it my mission—we, excuse me—we made it our mission to shut them down.”
That’s not easy to do against the combo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, nicknamed Sonic and Knuckles.
“We know what they want to do,” Wooden said. “Last year, they wanted to run. They call them Sonic and Knuckles, or whatever. They want to run them 30 times. So we know they want to run that ball. We’ve got to do our job to stop the run so they can get back and let (Parsons) go get them.”
Packers Filling Roles With Micah Parsons on Board
Wooden said the effect of having Parsons on the field was obvious, and it works both ways. When offenses focus on corralling Parsons, the other Packers must step up.
“Everybody’s got a job to do, everybody got a role,” Wooden said. “Everybody’s got to buy into their role. We know what attention and what he comes with. And we know we got to stop that run, go help him out, if he is getting is getting chipped, doubled or whatever, now it’s somebody else’s turn to win their one-on-one.”
Packers Have Commanders Next
And despite the obviously encouraging results, Wooden is not getting ahead of himself. The Commanders will be next on the docket, with fearsome young quarterback Jayden Daniels on hand.
“It’s just one week,” Wooden said. “It’s Week 1. It’s great to start off with a win, dominate. But we’ve got to keep it going. We got a good team coming here on Thursday, we know we got to be ready to stop that run and contain that quarterback. So we just gotta keep going, keep getting better, keep jelling.”
