After controversially trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in August, Jerry Jones has one person backing him for the move: Terry Bradshaw.
Bradshaw defended the trade for the Dallas Cowboys on “FOX NFL Sunday,” saying that Jones’ decision to deal Parsons is better from a team-building standpoint.
“I think Jerry Jones did the right thing. I don’t blame him one bit. I would’ve unloaded him,” Bradshaw said. “Saves me a ton of money on the salary cap, No. 1. He’s automatically getting two more first-round picks. Who’s to say that if things don’t work out, somebody’s going to get traded and pick up another one. Jerry Jones is sitting in the driver’s seat. I think it was a smart decision.”
Obviously, the trade gave the Cowboys more assets and flexibility against the salary cap. They’ll have two first-round picks in each of the next two drafts, marking the first time they’ve had multiple first-round picks in a draft class since 2008. Parsons also signed the richest contract for a non-quarterback in NFL history upon his trade to the Packers – four years, $186 million – so the Cowboys essentially save $46.5 million against the cap on an annual basis by not extending the star edge rusher.
Still, in order to get those extra first-round picks and roster flexibility, the Cowboys had to give up arguably the best edge rusher in the NFL. Parsons recorded at least 12 sacks in each of his first four years in the league, consistently ranking among the best at the position in pressures and pass-rush win rate.
While Bradshaw acknowledged Parsons’ talent, he continued to harp on the point that this trade allows Dallas to improve its roster in other ways. In fact, he thinks it could wind up benefiting the Cowboys in the same way that another big trade they made did.
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“Whether or not Parsons was a difference-maker with the back injury – and you tell me that’s no big deal, I do [buy that’s a big deal] – here’s the thing: Jerry Jones had to answer to no one to make this trade,” Bradshaw said. “This wasn’t the Jimmy Johnson trade when Jimmy traded Herschel Walker for six players and they unloaded six players to get six draft picks. This will be the same thing. So, good move Jerry Jones.”
Packers’ expectations with Micah Parsons, Aaron Rodgers’ legacy
Of course, the Walker trade has been widely viewed as one of the lopsided trades in sports history. The Cowboys received eight total draft picks from that move, including three first-round selections and used those picks to build their championship teams in the 1990s.
Obviously, we won’t know for a bit if the Parsons trade will have a similar impact. But Parsons seems far likelier to have a bigger impact with the Packers than Walker did in his 2.5 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Parsons is a year younger (26) than Walker was at the time of their trades, while the Packers also seem to be in a better spot to contend than the Vikings did in the late 1980s.
Parsons showed some of that promise in his Packers debut on Sunday. While playing limited snaps, Parsons recorded three pressures and a sack in the Packers’ 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions.
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