Who's winning the Micah Parsons trade? Revisiting Cowboys' blockbuster with Packers after first month

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Neither Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys nor Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers received the closure they were looking for in their 40-40 tie in the Week 4 edition of "Sunday Night Football." 

A communication misunderstanding and an unwillingness to come together to work through it in the 26-year-old All-Pro's contract negotiations resulted in Jones sending Parsons north to Green Bay in exchange for two first-rounds picks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Parsons ended up with the contract he was seeking, signing a four-year, $186 million extension with $136 million guaranteed, including $120 million fully guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap.com. Both Parsons' total contract value ($186 million) and average per year salary ($46.5 million) are the highest in the NFL for a non-quarterback.

In the end, why did Jones trade Parsons? Because he didn't view him to be as "indispensable" as three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott, whom he re-signed to a four-year, $240 million extension in 2024. Prescott's contract has the highest average per year salary ($60 million) in the NFL. 

"It's very simple. Dak was indispensable in my mind. And Micah wasn't," Jones said postgame when asked about paying quarterback Dak Prescott (four years, $240 million) and not Parsons.

With that in mind, let's take a look at how "indispensable" Parsons, or the lack of Parsons in the Cowboys' case, has been in the first four weeks of 2025 to figure which team is the early winner of the deal.

Dallas Cowboys

• 2025 record: 1-2-1

Yes, Dallas has marginally improved its run defense in 2025 through four games: the Cowboys are allowing nearly 15 yards fewer on the ground (123.3 rushing yards per game allowed, 21st in the NFL) this season than they did last season (137.1 rushing yards per game allowed, 29th in the NFL). That was one of Jones' major talking points when explaining why he felt OK trading Parsons in the first place. 

However, they haven't been able to create quarterback pressure when teams drop back to pass, which is why the improvement in the run game hasn't had an overarching effect defensively. Trading away Parsons, who along with Hall of Famer Reggie White stands as one of the two only players since sacks became an officially tracked individual statistic in 1982 with at least 12 in their first four seasons, plus having a shallow, banged-up cornerback room has resulted in the Cowboys defense getting shelled in 2025. 

The Cowboys' 40.2% team quarterback pressure rate with Parsons on the roster from 2021-2024 was the best in the NFL in that span. Without him in 2025, Dallas possesses a 33.3% QB pressure rate, 20th in the NFL through four weeks entering "Monday Night Football." Losing the pressure that Parsons generated the last four years has transformed Dallas into the NFL's worst third-down defense, allowing opponents to move the chains on 58.2% of their third-down opportunities. Not being able to speed up opposing quarterbacks has put the Cowboys' secondary into positions where it has to cover longer, and with both cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee) and cornerback DaRon Bland (foot) not at 100%, that's a major issue. 

Not having a high-end pass rush is a massive reason why the Parsons-less unit is the second-worst scoring defense (33.0 points per game allowed) and the worst total defense (420.5 total yards per game allowed) in the NFL this season. Prescott can put up MVP-caliber numbers, but if Dallas' defense continues to be the worst in the NFL, his production won't affect the win column. 

Jerry Jones takes another jab at Micah Parsons: 'Dak was indispensable in my mind. And Micah wasn't'

Garrett Podell

Green Bay Packers

• 2025 record: 2-1-1  

This season in Green Bay, Parsons' 25 quarterback pressures co-leads the league alongside Houston Texans Pro Bowler Will Anderson Jr. That's why the Packers have a 43% quarterback pressure rate, the eighth-best in the NFL and are only allowing 21.0 points per game, the 12th-best in the league, despite surrendering 40 points to Prescott and the Cowboys on "Sunday Night Football." 

Green Bay, as a result, also has three other players inside the top 40 for quarterback pressures: Pro Bowl edge rusher Rashan Gary (13 quarterback pressures, tied for 37th), edge rusher Lukas Van Ness (13 quarterback pressures, tied for 37th) and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (13 quarterback pressures, tied for 37th). Gary's 4.5 sacks thus far playing alongside Parsons are tied for the third-most in the NFL this season and five away from his single-season career mark of 9.5 set back in 2021. 

All that pass-rush pressure has also directly resulted in the Packers being a top five third-down defense thus far in 2025: their 32.7% third-down conversion rate allowed is the fourth-best in the entire NFL. That's incredibly valuable defensive production.

Verdict: Packers remain early winners

Yes, it's been a rocky last two weeks for the Packers with a stunning 13-10 upset loss at the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 and the 40-40 tie at the Cowboys in Week 4. However, they dominated two of last season's top scoring offenses in home wins over the Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders, when Jayden Daniels was still in the lineup, in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively. The Packers do need some upgrades at the cornerback position, but Parsons' presence has given them a defensive unit equipped to tilt games in Green Bay's favor in most weeks. Their loss at the Browns was on special teams (surrendering a blocked field goal on the go-ahead try), and a blocked extra point that was returned for a two-point conversion at the Cowboys was required for the game to even go to overtime in the first place. Following a Week 5 bye, Green Bay should be alright going forward.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, don't have any clear-cut answers to fix what is the NFL's worst defense when looking at their aforementioned metrics. The Cowboys will need to strike gold in the upcoming two drafts when they have an extra first-round pick from the Packers, or flip those picks into an immediate contributor. Without Parsons, Dallas doesn't have the pass rush to scare NFL offenses.