After the Dallas Cowboys officially traded defensive end Micah Parsons, many people from within the organization shared their thoughts on the decision.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Cowboys traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
Shortly after the trade was announced, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said that the decision would actually help the team in the upcoming season, claiming that the addition of Clark’s rush defense would outweigh the superstar play that Parsons brought to the table.
Over the last few days, many of the players and coaches from within the organization have gotten the chance to discuss the move, with Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer echoing the statements made by Jones, saying the trade was a “unanimous” decision.
“This is not something we came about; it wasn’t something where it was an overnight thing. We had talked about it, and at the end of the day, I think when you look at a football team, when you can essentially add up to four or five players and things like that, it gives you the ability to do some things,” he said, per the Cowboys.
Schottenheimer said he was disappointed that Parsons was sent to another team, but emphasized that the Cowboys’ “goals haven’t changed” as a result of the trade, telling the team that “the standard is the standard,” per the Cowboys.
Many of the Cowboys’ players provided similar comments on the trade, with quarterback Dak Prescott saying that the contract negotiations appeared to get “personal” at some point and the trade should help them with certain defensive aspects of the game.
“I’m not going to say we’re better. We’ve got to go out there and prove it. We had to prove it even if he was on this team, so I’m not going to say that by any means,” he said, as reported by ESPN.
“But I know what adding a guy like Kenny Clark, adding a true leader, a real man that’s going to only elevate this team, who’s been a Pro Bowl player and is excited about being here [means].”
Prescott added that the trade brings an answer to the many questions regarding the potential extension, explaining that Parsons missing games would have led to many distractions during the season.
“That would have been a lot more of a headache and distraction than getting a solution to it,” he said, per ESPN.
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb also responded to the news, saying he had hoped Parsons would have remained on the Cowboys while wishing him the best in Green Bay.
“He knows it. I expressed it to him just about every week I could, so I feel like he knows where we stand as far as brotherhood, friendship, and all that. I’m obviously wishing him the best. Hope he has the best season ever,” he said, according to the Cowboys.
Meanwhile, Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, who is close friends with Parsons, said many former players were jealous of Parsons, adding that he believes many of the issues started due to “hate, jealousy, envy towards him because of who he is and the production he does on the field.”
“Me personally, I never got no bad anything from him, like, ever, ever since he stepped foot on the team. I guess his personality and who he is, he knows he’s a great player, he knows he’s good, he knows who he is. So, a lot of people don’t like that. So that could’ve been different. But when we’re in the locker, everyone’s joking, everyone’s laughing, everyone’s smiling, everyone’s happy,” he added, per Jon Machota on X.
These comments come following reports that some Cowboys players viewed Parsons as “egotistical and self-centered,” with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writing that the defensive end “rankled teammates in different ways.”
The good news is that the Cowboys will no longer have to worry about these issues flaring up during the 2025 season.
All it took was trading away one of the best players in the NFL.