What to know about Kenny Clark, the key piece returning to Cowboys in the shocking Micah Parsons trade
Kenny Clark is the lone player returning to Dallas from Green Bay in the stunning Micah Parsons trade
•
2 min read
Micah Parsons is now a member of the Packers, as Thursday evening brought an end to his trade demand saga in Dallas with the Cowboys trading him to Green Bay for a return of two first round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
Parsons' arrival in Green Bay makes the Packers a Super Bowl contender and will understandably get the majority of headlines, but we wanted to look at what Dallas is getting back in Clark as the only player headed back to the Cowboys for one of the league's marquee players.
Clark was drafted 27th overall in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by Green Bay, and after spending much of his rookie season as a reserve in the defensive line rotation, he has been the anchor of the interior of the Packers defensive line for the past eight years. Clark is a three-time Pro Bowler, starting 126 games for the Packers since 2016, with 417 tackles and 35 sacks in his career from his defensive tackle position. The veteran tackle is just two years removed from one of the best seasons of his career, as he had 7.5 sacks, 44 total tackles and two forced fumbles in 2023, earning him his most recent Pro Bowl selection.
Clark will immediately provide an upgrade to the interior of the Cowboys defensive line, but he is not nearly the same kind of impact defender as Parsons. Dallas' current depth chart features Mazi Smith and Osa Odighizuwa as the starting defensive tackles, but Clark will likely bump Smith back into a rotation spot and join his fellow former UCLA Bruin, Odighizuwa, as the starting tackles.
We won't be able to fully judge the return from the Parsons trade until the two first round picks are made by Dallas. Perhaps they acquire a future star with one of those picks (which figure to be later in the first round), but for now, fair or not, there's ample pressure on Clark to come in and be a dominant force on the interior of the line. That pressure will only ramp up if the Packers become a top threat in the NFC with Parsons.
No one on the Cowboys' roster is capable of replacing Parsons' ability to pressure the quarterback and Clark certainly can't do so from his tackle position, but for this trade to not be viewed as a total disaster in Dallas, the 29-year-old tackle will need to perform strongly in his role.
