More Parsons/Cowboys Fallout: Negotiations, Extension Length, NFLPA
Following a mid-March meeting between Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons, the Cowboys owner was left with the belief that he reached an extension agreement with his star pass rusher. That deal obviously never came to fruition, ultimately culminating in last week’s stunning blockbuster trade with the Packers.
[RELATED: Micah Parsons Attempted To Restart Cowboys Extension Talks Prior To Trade]
Following that fateful meeting, Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, claims he made several attempts to resume negotiations with the organization. However, Jones apparently stuck to his apparent handshake agreement and refused to return to the the negotiating table.
“To expect somebody like Micah Parsons to be one of the best defenders in the NFL and also a great lawyer when it comes to contracts, I think it’s a bit unfair,” Mulugheta said during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” yesterday (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky and Todd Archer). “His job is to go out there and chase quarterbacks, and our job is to go out there and chase commas for him. I’m not sure exactly why it went this way, but we were always prepared and open to negotiating a contract with the Jones family.”
Mulugheta made it clear that his client always wanted to remain a Cowboy, and despite the public stare down with the organization, Parsons would have suited up for Week 1 without a new contract. That made Jones’ refusal to resume negotiations especially frustrating for the player’s camp.
“If you’re a [then-]25-year-old football player and your boss, who happens to be the most powerful person in the NFL, starts talking about contracts, it’s hard for you to end that conversation,” Mulugheta said. “So they had a conversation. Micah nodded his head out of respect.
“Obviously there’s a power dynamic that’s a little different there. One guy’s the owner of the team and the GM, and the other one is Micah Parsons, a young 25-year-old football player. So, I’m not sure if there was miscommunication there by the time Micah walked out, but at no point did Micah believe that he was negotiating a contract.”
While there apparently wasn’t much back-and-forth between the two sides, it sounds like the Cowboys still had a definitive contract on the table. Jones claimed they offered Parsons a contract that would have made him the highest-paid non-QB in league history, and sources told ESPN that the offer exceeded $150MM. However, the main difference in the Cowboys’ standing offer and the four-year, $188MM deal Parsons ultimately accepted from the Packers was the length. As Mulugheta notes, the Cowboys were sticking to a five-year offer, a contract that the agent believes would have cost his client about $60MM to $70MM in future earnings.
There was also some belief that Jones was potentially circumventing CBA rules by attempting to negotiate with Parsons directly. The interim leader of the NFL Players’ Association, David White, seemed to tiptoe around the controversy when asked about the matter.
“We intend to enforce every provision of the collective bargaining agreement when we think that there may be a violation,” White said (via Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press). “And the best way to do that is to call people and say: ‘Knock it off.’ When both sides are able to do that, when needed, that usually makes for a productive management-labor relationship. When it doesn’t work, for whatever reason, that’s when you take it to the next level, which is to file a grievance to go to court, or to take whatever action is available to you under the collective bargaining agreement. In this instance, and here you’re talking about Jerry and Micah and their representatives and the other folks involved, I will say Micah has found his way to Green Bay with a contract that he has publicly stated makes him happy, and that makes us happy.”
One contender for the full-time NFLPA executive director job was a bit more pointed in his criticism. Hall of Fame cornerback Darrelle Revis took to social media to question whether Jones should be held accountable. Revis suggested that the NFLPA could look into a grievance against the Cowboys, although he acknowledged that the subsequent fine would only amount “to pennies.”
“At the very least, the NFLPA should be saying it does not condone what Jerry is doing, that all options are on the table, and reminding players that if ownership ever tries to deal with them directly while represented, they should contact their agent and the union immediately,” Revis wrote. “The bigger issue is respect. Jerry’s actions show that owners have no problem taking advantage of us, and when our union fails to respond, it sends the message that they’ll be able to do the same in the next CBA negotiations if the current leadership remains in place.”
Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs, Tyler Guyton Expected To Play In Week 1
September 3: Diggs is expected to play in Thursday night’s matchup against the Eagles, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The Cowboys are still planning to be cautious with Diggs and may limit his snap count, but his return to the field is impressive after undergoing major knee surgery in January.
Guyton is also expected to play, according to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News.
September 1: The Cowboys are hoping that cornerback Trevon Diggs and left tackle Tyler Guyton will be ready for their regular season opener against the Eagles on Thursday, but neither is certain to take the field.
Diggs is working his way back to full strength after undergoing knee surgery in January. Expectations of an early-season return kept him on the 53-man roster rather than the physically unable to perform list during last week’s cut-downs. Diggs gave himself a “75-80 percent” chance of playing on Thursday night, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota.
If Diggs is good to go, he’ll start on the boundary opposite Kaiir Elam with DaRon Bland in the slot. Without Diggs, however, the Cowboys may have to shuffle their secondary. Bland moved into the slot this offseason, but he could play on the boundary until Diggs’ return with backup Reddy Steward starting at nickel. Dallas could also keep Bland in the slot and call upon seventh-round rookie Trikweze Bridges or veteran special teams ace C.J. Goodwin on the outside.
Guyton is recovering from a knee injury suffered at the beginning of training camp. He was diagnosed with a bone fracture and a sprained knee, allowing him to avoid season-ending surgery as well as an injured list placement to start the season. Guyton told All City DLLS’ Clarence Hill that he is expecting to play on Thursday night, but that decision hasn’t been officially made.
If Guyton doesn’t play, 2024 seventh-rounder Nathan Thomas is next up on the Cowboys’ depth chart and would likely get the start at left tackle. Thomas spent his rookie year on the IR and started the first two games of the preseason this year.
Both Diggs and Guyton were full participants in Monday’s practice, an encouraging sign for their availability on Thursday.
Cowboys To Extend FB Hunter Luepke
The Cowboys are signing fullback Hunter Luepke to a two-year contract extension, according to Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
The deal is worth a maximum value of $7.5MM and includes more than $5MM in fully guaranteed money, per Garafolo, representing a significant raise over the three-year, $2.715MM contract Luepke signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 (via OverTheCap). He made the 53-man roster as a rookie and appeared in all 17 regular-season games, primarily on special teams. He expanded his role in 2024, more than doubling his snap count as a key blocker for the Cowboys offense.
While the base value of Luepke’s extension has yet to be reported, it should place him among the top five fullbacks in terms of APY. He was headed into a contract year with the potential for a RFA tag next offseason. The lowest tag number is projected to be a non-guaranteed $3.453MM (via OTC), so the Cowboys gave Luepke some extra guarantees in exchange for two years of team control at a reasonable cost.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones justified the Micah Parsons trade by saying that he could sign several other players with the money that Parsons would have otherwise received.
“That’s a good trade when you need numbers,” said Jones on Good Morning America on Wednesday (via Jon Machota of The Athletic). “I’ll take the numbers every time.”
Jones has started to follow through on his plans, signing DaRon Bland and Luepke to new contracts in the week since the Parsons trade and engaging Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith in extension talks as well. While none of those players have the individual impact that Parsons does, the Cowboys are at least using the money they saved to build a well-rounded roster for the future.
Cowboys Set Focus On Deals With OL Tyler Smith, DE Sam Williams
SEPTEMBER 2: Though it looked like there might be a chance for the Cowboys to get a new deal done with Smith before the onset of the regular season, that appears less likely with the first game of the season less than 48 hours away. Smith doesn’t seem concerned about the delay in the slightest, though. Per an update on the team website, Smith’s attention is fully on Thursday’s season opener, as he remarks that “everything will happen in due time.”
AUGUST 31: Back in April the Cowboys set their sights on new deals for tight end Jake Ferguson, cornerback DaRon Bland, left guard Tyler Smith, and kicker Brandon Aubrey. Since then, Ferguson and Bland have received their desired extensions, and now, Smith should be the next priority in Dallas, per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 
Smith came to Dallas as a first-round pick out of Tulsa in 2022. A left tackle during his time with the Golden Hurricane, Smith was expected to move inside to guard as a rookie. When veteran left tackle Tyron Smith suffered a torn hamstring, though, the rookie Smith was tapped as the next man up and looked like a natural as he started every game as the blindside blocker for a team that finished with the fourth-fewest sacks allowed in the NFL that year.
In his sophomore campaign, the Cowboys shifted Smith back inside to the left guard position he was expected to play as a rookie. Despite missing three games, Smith was named a second-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler. When Tyron Smith departed in free agency, the team debated shifting Tyler Smith out to the left tackle role he excelled in as a rookie. Instead, Dallas drafted Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton at No. 29 overall and trusted the rookie with the left tackle job, allowing Smith to earn another Pro Bowl bid at left guard.
Now headed into the final year of his rookie contract, the Cowboys made the decision to exercise Smith’s fifth-year option. You don’t often see teams utilize a fifth-round option on an interior lineman, since the system for calculating the value of fifth-year options groups the usually cheaper interior linemen with notably more expensive tackles. The Cowboys likely don’t intend to pay out the option year but instead use the exercising of the option as a commitment to work towards an extension for the 24-year-old before his rookie contract expires.
Back in May, Smith changed up his representation in anticipation of contract negotiations. ESPN’s Todd Archer reports that Smith and the team have started talks towards a new deal, and new head coach Brian Schottenheimer expressed hope that Smith would be the next player to get locked in long term.
Another player named as the next potential top priority for the team is defensive end Sam Williams, according to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. The Cowboys’ pick in the second round after Smith in 2022, Williams logged 8.5 sacks as a rotation rusher in his first two years with the team. He was expected to take on a potential starting role in 2024, but a torn ACL in training camp — with a partial MCL tear — took him out for the entire season. He now heads into the final year of his rookie contract and is once again expected to be a starter in 2025.
As owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones works to make everybody forget about Micah Parsons, it may be in his best interest to sign promising young players like Smith and Williams to long-term deals. They have another three days to talk, if they hope to get any more deals done before the regular season is underway.
Cowboys Extend CB DaRon Bland
SEPTEMBER 1: Bland’s extension is worth a maximum (rather than a base value) of $92MM, as detailed by ESPN’s Todd Archer. A $22MM signing bonus is present, and Bland’s base salaries in 2025 and ’26 are locked in at signing. His $12MM salary for 2027 is guaranteed for injury and vests in March of that year. The same structure is in place for annual $1MM roster bonuses.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports the deal includes a $19MM option bonus in 2028. Annual escalators worth up to $500K each are in place based on individual and team performances (with five and seven interceptions marking the thresholds and full pay being tied to whether or not the team reaches the playoffs the previous season). Salary de-escalators are also present instead of workout bonuses. In all, the four-year pact is worth $90MM in base value with $36.35MM fully guaranteed and another $13MM set to lock in midway through the deal.
AUGUST 31: The Cowboys have agreed to a four-year extension with cornerback DaRon Bland, as FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer was first to report. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds the deal is worth $92MM and includes $50MM in guaranteed money. The Cowboys have since announced the extension.
We heard back in April that Dallas was eyeing long-term deals for Bland, tight end Jake Ferguson, left guard Tyler Smith, and kicker Brandon Aubrey. Now, a little over month after extending Ferguson, Bland is on the books for the foreseeable future.
Of course, the situation involving former Cowboys edge defender Micah Parsons has been one of the NFL’s key storylines this offseason. Parsons, a premier, in-his-prime talent, was not originally viewed as a realistic trade candidate, but the relationship between player and team deteriorated in a very public way, and Dallas recently dealt the four-time Pro Bowler to the Packers for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. While the trade and the circumstances that gave rise to it have earned owner Jerry Jones a great deal of criticism, it did free up some funds to be allocated elsewhere.
Indeed, as Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News writes, team sources said in the wake of the Parsons trade that the Cowboys would be active on the extension front. As such, it would not be surprising to see Smith and/or Aubrey get a new contract in short order.
A report at the end of July suggested Dallas and Bland were engaged in contract talks, and those conversations progressed to the point that Bland was hoping to put pen to paper before Week 1. He has gotten his wish, and in so doing he has landed just outside the top-five earners at the cornerback position in terms of average annual value. His new-money average of $23MM/year is just behind the likes of Patrick Surtain ($24MM), Jalen Ramsey ($24.1MM), and Jaycee Horn ($25MM).
Bland followed Trevon Diggs to the first-team All-Pro level in 2023, returning an NFL-record five interceptions for touchdowns. The fifth-round find became a vital piece in Dallas’ defense that season, shifting to an outside CB role in the wake of Diggs’ September ACL tear. Bland, who intercepted an NFL-most nine passes that season, now joins Diggs as a high-priced corner on the Cowboys’ defense. Pro Football Focus ranked Bland second among qualified corners in 2023 and 33rd during his seven-game 2024.
Entering his age-26 season, Bland also saw his extension leverage strengthened by Diggs’ injury trouble. The Cowboys paid Diggs (via a five-year, $97MM extension) before the 2023 season but have not seen the 2021 first-team All-Pro live up to the deal. The knee trouble Diggs ran into in 2023 resurfaced last year, and he missed the team’s offseason program and training camp due to the rehab effort. Diggs is off Dallas’ PUP list but is a question mark going into the season.
Bland is no stranger to injury trouble himself, having suffered a foot fracture during training camp last year. That kept him out 10 games, as the Cowboys activated him in late October but did not use him in a game until their Thanksgiving tilt. This extension certainly reveals confidence Bland can anchor Dallas’ CB corps moving forward. The team can release Diggs for just less than $6MM in dead money in 2026.
With third-round rookie Shavon Revel on the team’s reserve/NFI list after an ACL tear sustained during his final East Carolina season, Bland will be a crucial piece to Matt Eberflus‘ defense — especially considering one of the NFL’s lead pass-rushing pieces is now in Wisconsin. The Cowboys have question marks at their other CB posts for the time being, with trade acquisition Kaiir Elam — a former first-rounder the Bills never trusted as a regular starter — set to play a key role while Diggs and Revel recover.
Bland’s usage will be interesting to track this year as well. After playing a near-full-time slot role as a rookie, he has largely been a boundary defender. This offseason, however, the Cowboys had Bland working in the slot regularly. A setup where he plays inside on passing downs, alongside Diggs and Elam/Revel, would make sense for the Cowboys. This contract also checks in well north of where the 49ers went for their multipurpose CB (Deommodore Lenoir) last year and miles ahead of the slot-only market.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 8/30/25
Saturday’s NFL taxi squad moves:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Ryan Flournoy
- Released: OL Saahdiq Charles
Flournoy was waived on Thursday, but he went unclaimed yesterday. That allowed for the 25-year-old to remain in Dallas via a practice squad agreement. Charles – who was retained on the taxi squad following roster cuts – is out of the organization for now, but ESPN’s Todd Archer notes he could return at some point.
Micah Parsons Trade Fallout: Financials, Cowboys, Packers
When the Micah Parsons trade from Dallas to Green Bay was reported, we had a good number of details concerning the new contract Parsons would sign with the Packers. To reiterate, we listed it as a four-year, $188MM deal with $136MM in total guarantees ($120MM guaranteed at signing). Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, $44MM of those guarantees will be in the form of his signing bonus. 
Pelissero continued his breakdown of the deal. Base salaries for the next two years of $1.17MM in 2025 and $2.39MM in 2026 are fully guaranteed, while the base salary of 2027 ($3.11MM) is guaranteed for injury. Option bonuses in 2026 ($38MM) and 2027 ($34.44MM) are fully guaranteed at signing, as well. Any remaining guarantees (approximately $12.89MM) would be partially guaranteed from his 2028 base salary of $40.55MM. In 2029, the final year of the deal, Parsons would have a base salary of $43.55MM and a $1MM 90-man bonus.
Parsons will also receive per game active roster bonuses of $11,764 which could total and additional $200K in each season. Every year from 2027-29 offers $250K Pro Bowl and All-Pro escalators, and 2029 holds additional $250K incentives for making the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst expressed how he “really likes” Parsons’ salary cap numbers for the next three years, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, and it makes sense that he drew the line at three. Those cap hits are $9.97MM in 2025, $19.24MM in 2026, and $26.85MM in 2027. Once you jump into Year 4, though, Parsons’ cap hit goes to $64.29MM in 2028 and $68.29MM in 2029.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter points out that Parsons will be subject to Wisconsin’s state income tax on games played in Green Bay, whereas Texas has no state income tax, so that portion was not withheld for Cowboys home games. Schefter’s crude calculation removing 7.65 percent from Parsons’ annual value may be a bit understated; regardless, it still leaves Parsons with more money after taxes than the deal Dallas had offered to him.
Here are a few more fallout items coming out of the monumental trade from two days ago:
- On the Cowboys’ side of things, this week’s trade freed up $19MM of 2025 cap space. Now with an estimated $42MM in free salary cap space, Dallas is second in the NFL in that regard, behind only the Patriots ($52MM), according to Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac.
- The Cowboys may end up using that cap space, too. Pelissero quoted team owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones saying, “Nothing says we can’t use some of those picks right now to go get somebody right now.” The team has four first-round picks in the next two years, but if both teams remain playoff contenders, how much value does the draft capital hold? It may make more sense to bring in some immediate contributors by trading the first-rounders and absorbing their extra cap hits with the team’s ample cap space.
- Pelissero also noted, in an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, that this move is out of character for the Packers. He notes that, for decades, Green Bay has been reportedly close to deals for players like wide receiver Randy Moss or tight end Tony Gonzalez, but the deals have always fallen just short as the Packers balk at giving up more compensation than they’re comfortable with. He also notes that they haven’t traded a first-round pick (let alone two first-round picks) since they acquired quarterback Brett Favre in 1992. The reason they’re willing to do so now? We’ve seen recent Super Bowl champions be extremely active in the trade market. The Eagles, Chiefs, and, most notably, the Rams have all made ambitious win-now moves when they felt they were closest to contention. While there’s certainly an art to building a team through the draft and developing a culture and roster, once you get to a certain point, one or two big moves for impact players could be the factor that wins a Super Bowl, and a player like Parsons is definitely of that caliber.
Micah Parsons Attempted To Restart Cowboys Extension Talks Prior To Trade
One week before the start of the regular season, the Cowboys and Packers completed a landscape-altering trade. Micah Parsons will play out his second contract in Green Bay after talks with Dallas did not produce a deal.
Further details on the process which ultimately resulted in Parsons landing a record-breaking investment for non-quarterbacks have emerged. The four-time Pro Bowler and his camp spent a lengthy period without negotiations taking place, with owner Jerry Jones attempting to stick to the terms spoke about during the spring. Agent David Mulugheta was not present for that conversation, something which proved to be a central talking point in this saga.
In the aftermath of the trade, Parsons told NFL Network’s Jane Slater he and his camp went to the team in a bid to reengage on contract talks once reports emerged about a trade being possible in recent days. The two-time All-Pro said Dallas’ response was for him to commit to playing on his fifth-year option or to “leave.” During Thursday’s press conference, Jones confirmed (via colleague Mike Garafolo) that was the team’s stance leading up to the trade being finalized.
“We do have players that come in, and we totally respect it, that say, ‘I don’t feel comfortable talking about my contract. I’d like you to go through my agent,'” COO Stephen Jones said during the presser (via Garafolo). “And we do that respectfully. I mean, you’re not required to come in and negotiate the contract yourself. All the ones we’ve done like that are those who request to come in and visit with Jerry or myself. That’s the only ones we’ve done that way.”
Among Jerry Jones’ many comments on the situation was the claim he offered to make Parsons the top earner for non-quarterbacks during the unofficial spring contract talks. A report from yesterday indicated the deal discussed was five years in length and averaged $40.5MM per season. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe confirms (subscription required) those were indeed the terms presented by Dallas. In the end, Parsons landed $47MM on average – along with massive guarantee figures – on a four-year Packers extension. Term length is often a point of contention regarding Cowboys contract talks, with the team preferring longer pacts.
As the Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb deals indicated last offseason, though, Jones and Co. have been willing to compromise with four-year accords. That did not prove to be the case with Parsons. As a result, the 26-year-old is on the move just before Week 1. The deteriorating relationship between team and player in this case included a trade request being issued on August 1, something which is commonplace during extension talks. Jerry and Stephen Jones added during the press conference (via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport) they never felt as if Parsons genuinely wanted to leave, though.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated notes the length of Dallas’ offer appears to have been an issue. He adds the Penn State product’s behavior shifted over the course of the summer as this situation played out; Parsons attended walkthroughs and team meetings but did not take part in on-field drills during training camp. His decision to lay on medical table during Dallas’ final preseason contest became a talking point (and was immediately followed by a meeting with head coach Brian Schottenheimer). Jerry Jones noted that episode did not impact the decision to move forward with a trade.
“We’ve certainly got a new coaching staff and a third of all the players are new,” Jones said (via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News) when reflecting on the Parsons trade and the Cowboys’ 2025 prospects. “And obviously there is freshness, we’ll use the word new on that basis. We have the highest-paid player in the NFL at quarterback and we made that commitment last year and we’re proud we made it. It had everything to do with this decision. It gives us every opportunity with Dak Prescott, Lamb and the base that we got to win now.”
Observers are skeptical about Dallas’ defense improving in the short term without Parsons in the fold, although the inclusion of defensive tackle Kenny Clark in the package sent from Green Bay will help the Cowboys’ run defense. The fate of the two first-round picks Dallas also received will be key in telling the final story of this trade. For now, all parties are positioned to move forward after a last-minute effort to work out a Cowboys extension was shut down.
Cowboys Limited Micah Parsons Trade Conversations To Teams With DT Depth; No Talks Occurred Pre-Draft
One of this century’s most significant NFL transactions occurred Thursday, when the Cowboys shockingly traded Micah Parsons to the Packers for two first-round picks and 10th-year defensive tackle Kenny Clark. After a monthslong saga that brought a host of rumors (and Jerry Jones confirming them in his rather pivotal Michael Irvin interview) no trade would happen, Parsons has since arrived in Green Bay and is now tied to a record-smashing defender contract.
While the topic of a trade came up multiple times during this process — including an early-February report indicating internal dialogue transpired on a deal — no real waves surfaced regarding a swap until this week. Parsons’ camp had attempted to reengage with Jones, who had waged an interesting crusade against the defensive end’s agent (David Mulugheta) during this saga, this week but was told he would either play on his fifth-year option number or be traded.
Parsons has barely a week to prepare for the Packers’ opener. It does not sound like the four-time Pro Bowler will be a full-time participant — after a de facto hold-in — according to Brian Gutekunst (via ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky). Parsons attended Cowboys minicamp and training camp but did not practice, using a back injury as cover during training camp. That was never viewed as a major issue, the Thursday trade haul confirming the Packers’ minimal concerns here.
Jones’ stance of Clark replacing Parsons on the 2025 being a net gain is a tough sell, as the 2026 and ’27 first-rounders are the lead assets here — for a Cowboys team that has drafted eight All-Pros in Round 1 since 2010. But the longtime owner did say the team’s interest in adding a D-tackle impacted the team’s search.
The 37th-year owner indicated (via NFL.com’s Jane Slater) the Cowboys only discussed trades with teams who carried sufficient DT depth and would be willing to meet Parsons’ contractual demands. The latter component goes without saying in a trade like this, but it is interesting the Cowboys made the DT position a central part of this deal.
This included “several” conversations with the Packers, per Jones (via TMJ4’s Ashley Washburn) in recent days. While the Cowboys would presumably have a much better chance to justify Jones’ comments about potential post-Parsons improvement in 2025 had they unloaded the superstar EDGE before the draft, the owner/GM said (via Slater) the team did begin considering it in the spring. Though, the 82-year-old Cowboys honcho added the team did not discuss Parsons with other clubs pre-draft.
Jones (via Slater) cited the Cowboys’ D-end depth as a reason they felt OK making this seismic move. Dallas used a second-round pick on a defensive end for the third time in four years, adding Donovan Ezeiruaku a year after selecting Marshawn Kneeland. Sam Williams is also a former second-rounder, but the 2022 draftee is coming off an ACL tear.
Dallas also reunited with Dante Fowler, who registered a Washington-best 10.5 sacks last season. That said, ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell relayed a telling stat about Parsons’ value to the team. From 2021-24, Dallas led the league in defensive EPA per play with Parsons on the field. In 1,039 snaps without Parsons in that span, the Cowboys’ defense ranked 31st in that metric.
Jones (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo) cited run defense as a key need. The Cowboys, who have not invested much at linebacker in recent years, ranked 29th in run defense last season and 22nd in 2022. In their 2021 and ’23 playoff years, the team ranked 16th.
A 2016 first-round pick, Clark was a nine-year Packers starter en route to two extensions. He earned Pro Bowl nods in 2019, 2021 and 2023, being regarded as one of the NFL’s better DTs. Pro Football Focus ranked Clark 53rd among interior D-linemen last season — a career-worst finish — but ESPN’s pass rush win rate metric slotted him 18th among DTs in 2023.
Clark, 30 in October, also underwent offseason foot surgery to address an issue that hampered him in 2024. Clark joins the recently re-signed Osa Odighizuwa (four years, $80MM) as high-priced DTs in Dallas, which took on Clark’s three-year, $64MM extension that runs through 2027.
Although Gutekunst said Friday (via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman) he only believed a legitimate shot at landing Parsons existed a couple days ago, the Packers had the framework of a trade by Wednesday (via Demovsky) were both among the first teams to reach out and appealed to Parsons. Green Bay reminding Parsons of Penn State, where he attended college, increased his interest, per the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins. The $47MM-per-year windfall — $6MM north (in AAV) from T.J. Watt‘s previous non-QB record and $6.5MM higher than Dallas had offered — didn’t hurt, either.
Jones said (via Garafolo) the intra-NFC component of this trade did not matter to him, indicating he would only have avoided trading within the NFC East. Parsons, 26, will return to Dallas as a Packer in Week 4. While we might learn some dissenting opinions down the road, depending on how this trade goes, Jones said (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) the front office and coaching staff were “unanimous” this was the right trade to make.
Clark was “shocked” by the trade; he joins some Cowboys in reacting that way. Brian Schottenheimer said (via WFAA’s Ed Werder) he talked to between 12 and 14 players, including Dak Prescott and Trevon Diggs, about the move at it was completed. Schottenheimer had said he was confident Parsons would suit up for the Cowboys in Week 1, but days after he spoke with the disgruntled player about his actions during the Cowboys’ preseason finale, the new HC will oversee a lower-profile pass-rushing group. Schottenheimer added Friday this trade was “not an overnight thing.”
“This is not something we came about; it wasn’t something where it was like an overnight thing,” Schottenheimer said. “We had talked about it, and at the end of the day, I think when you look at a football team, when you can potentially add up to four or five players and things like that, it gives you the ability to do some things.”
It certainly seems like the Cowboys pivoted, as their aim had been to extend Parsons in 2025 for a while. They prioritized Prescott and CeeDee Lamb deals in their 2024 contract years, giving them top-end contracts — Prescott’s a still-unapproached $60MM-per-year accord — just before last season. This Parsons zag naturally prompted Jones to bring up the seminal Herschel Walker trade, which ignited the Cowboys’ rebuild into a three-Super Bowl run between 1992-95.
In Jones and Jimmy Johnson‘s first year at the helm, the Cowboys received a staggering haul for the then-superstar running back in October 1989, landing three first-round picks, three second-rounders, a third and a sixth between the 1990 and ’92 drafts. The Parsons haul does not compare to the Walker swap, which would be an impossible deal to pull off today.
These extension talks breaking down led to the Cowboys betting they can improve based on the two additional first-round picks — and whatever Clark can provide in his early 30s — they collected from the Packers. Early proclamations for the Green Bay side as the trade winner have emerged, but Dallas has two first-round choices to make before the judges’ scorecards are turned in on this momentous swap down the road.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 8/29/25
NFL teams continue adjusting their practice squads as we close in on the regular season:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: CB Zion Childress
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: CB Micah Robinson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Austin Trammell
- Released: WR Dorian Singer
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DE Ethan Downs, DT Brodric Martin, DT Zacch Pickens, DE Tyreke Smith
- Released: DT Coziah Izzard, WR Hal Presley
Los Angeles Chargers
- Released: CB Harrison Hand
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Jordan Colbert
New England Patriots
- Signed: T Thayer Munford
- Released: G Jack Conley
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Zaire Barnes, OL McClendon Curtis
- Released: OLB Trace Ford
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Ambry Thomas
- Released: WR Terrace Marshall, CB Eli Ricks
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DT Evan Anderson, T Kilian Zierer
- Released: DE William Bradley-King
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DT Timmy Horne, T John Ojukwu
- Released: RB Jermar Jefferson, CB Amani Oruwariye
Anderson cleared waivers after being cut and can now be assigned to the 49ers’ practice squad. The reason San Francisco can add two while only dropping one from a full practice squad is because Zierer is from Munich, Germany, qualifying him to be a part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. While practice squads are capped at 16 players, teams can keep a 17th player if they are a part of the IPPP.