NFL: Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys
Imagn Images

The Micah Parsons saga is over. The Green Bay Packers pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Cowboys to acquire the three-time All-Pro edge rusher, and the stunning move sent shockwaves throughout the NFL. Current and former players across the league, including Packers quarterback Jordan Love, chimed in with reactions ranging from shock to excitement after the massive domino fell just one week before the start of the 2025 season.

Love is a major beneficiary of the trade as his defense figures to immediately take a step forward with Parsons leading the pass rush. In fact, Green Bay's Super Bowl odds spiked from +2200 +1400 after the acquisition. A significant amount of weight should come off Love's and the offense's shoulders, assuming the Packers' 28th-ranked defense in yards allowed improves this season.

Green Bay blitzed at the second-lowest pace in the NFL last year and finished in the bottom half of the league in quarterback knockdown rate, but bringing a superstar into the mix on the edge makes the Packers' front much more fearsome.

Love had been eyeing Parsons from afar as far back as February. In an interview with the ex-Cowboys star shortly after the 2024 season, Love pointed to him as a potential addition who would make an impact if he were to join the roster.

"The dude sitting right next to me, man," Love said. "That would be pretty cool. That would be pretty cool, no?"

Parsons heads to Green Bay on a four-year, $188 million deal that includes $120 million guaranteed. It makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history and outdoes the gargantuan deals Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt signed this offseason when they reset the market for the league's top defenders. In exchange for the star pass rusher, Dallas receives defensive tackle Kenny Clark and a pair of first-round picks.

The trade resolves a standoff between Parsons and the Cowboys that has been ongoing for years. Parsons said this offseason that he and his agent have been in search of a long-term extension since 2023, but talks with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones soured throughout the process. Things reached a head on Aug. 1 when Parsons requested a trade amid the stalled negotiations.

Jones took a healthy amount of flak from Cowboys fans this summer with the Parsons negotiations unsettled. When training camp opened in July, fans met Jones with "Pay Micah" chants -- which he said were a mere "faint little sound" compared to the "Pay Lamb" chants he received last year when CeeDee Lamb was in a similar contract position. Frustration with Cowboys leadership figures to only heighten with Parsons now shipped out of town.

With the trade keeping Parsons in the NFC, he does not have to wait long for his first game against his former team. The Packers head to Dallas on Sept. 28 for a prime time matchup with the Cowboys.