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Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett knows Jerry Jones better than almost anyone, and even he was stunned by Jones' decision to trade Micah Parsons last week. 

Garrett spent 21 seasons in Dallas, which includes time he spent as a player (eight seasons), an offensive coordinator (four seasons) and a coach (nine seasons), so he's very familiar with how Jones operates, but he was still surprised by the 82-year-old's shocking move, which saw the Cowboys send Parsons to Green Bay in exchange for two first-round picks and Kenny Clark. 

"I was shocked," Garrett told PFT over the weekend. "You know, the most important player on a football team is the quarterback. The second most important player on a football team is the guy who can negatively affect the quarterback. And those guys are hard to come by, and ever since that guy has come into the league, he has been a dominant player."

Garrett's final year with the Cowboys came in 2019, so he never got to coach Parsons, who was drafted in 2021. However, Garrett pointed out that you don't have to coach Parsons to realize just how dominant he is. It's something that's obvious to anyone who watches him play. 

"He's transformative," Garrett said of Parsons. "He changes the whole team. If you think about the Cowboys in 2020, they were 6-10, they weren't a very good team, and then [Parsons] gets there along with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn [in 2021], and all of a sudden, they're a different team."

The Cowboys made the playoffs in three of Parsons' four seasons in Dallas. 

One reason Parsons was so good in Dallas is because he made everyone on the defense better. Garrett pointed out that Parsons' pass-rushing abilities contributed to the success of the secondary. DaRon Bland had nine interceptions and five pick sixes in 2023, leading the NFL in both categories. And although Jones was unwilling to give Parsons a new contract, he did give one to Bland over the weekend, signing his cornerback to a four-year $92 million extension. Based on Garrett's breakdown though, Bland's play could take a step back without Parsons on the defense. 

"If you look at all those interceptions that their DBs were making, [DaRon] Bland and [Trevon] Diggs and you're intercepting them and running back for touchdowns," Garrett said. "Look what's going on around the quarterback on those throws."

Parsons is truly a generational player and it's going to be almost impossible for the Cowboys to replace him. 

"Micah Parsons is the guy causing all the problems, and those guys are hard to come by," Garrett said. "If you think about, you know, four years, 52 sacks, he and Reggie White, being used in the same sentences. He's an impactful player, and I was shocked that they let him out of the building."

Jones has insisted that the trade will make the Cowboys better, and although no one's buying that, the Cowboys will have a chance to prove their owner right when they take the field on Thursday in Philadelphia against the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, a team with a high-flying offense that includes Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown.