Micah Parsons Trade: Cowboys Don't Like to Have Nice Things

What They're Saying

NFL.com (from February) on Parsons trade considerations dating back to before this offseason: "While there have been no trade talks, sources say there have at least been some internal discussions about whether to pay Parsons or trade him for a king's ransom. If the Cowboys are willing to listen, they may get it. Cowboys COO Stephen Jones told NFL.com in December that the team will study the wisdom of having so much money invested in so few players, but added: 'I can't imagine there's a scenario where he's not wearing a star on his helmet.'"

(No word yet on whether Packers helmets are getting a re-design for 2025 or beyond.)

NFL Network's Jane Slater on Thursday: "[Parsons] says he and his team went back to the Cowboys about an extension with 'empathy' when the trade interest was leaked this week. The Cowboys response according to Parsons was 'play on the 5th year or leave.'"

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

We certainly don't have all the details from both sides. But it's tough to look at this whole process and believe the Cowboys really wanted to keep Parsons around. He was clearly on track to land the position's largest salary, and it apparently didn't take Green Bay long to work something out.

Let's put that aside now and look at the impact ...

The Dallas defense sports some young guys who could turn into nice edge players. They obviously don't have anyone else at the position who's going to match Parsons. That's going to hurt the team defense, including quite likely taking a big bite out of the 52 sacks that ranked third in the league last year.

Green Bay's defense, meanwhile, now lines Parsons up opposite Rashan Gary. He has yet to hit 10 sacks in a season but has delivered much more hidden pressure than that would indicate. That includes seasons of 22 and 28 QB hits.

Gary and Parsons give the Packers one of the league's best pass-rushing duos and make Green Bay a high-ceiling fantasy defense for this season.

Opening the season against the Lions and Commanders might not allow that to surface right away, but the Packers could prove playable even there. A Week 3 visit to Cleveland looks even more attractive.

Parsons' IDP upside should remain just as strong, assuming there's nothing actually worrisome about his back issue. We'll see about that, given there's now a reason for the 26-year-old to try to return to the field.

We'll see whether Parsons will make sense for our Week 1 lineups, but he should at least return to stud production soon.

Dynasty Impact

Moving from Dallas' 4-3 base defense to Green Bay's 3-4 might move Parsons from a DL/DE designation to LB on some fantasy hosting sites. That would damage his fantasy value in those cases.

Consider that just the latest reason that every platform should create an "edge" designation to avoid such issues.

Parsons will be the same player regardless of what the online depth chart says he plays.

Other Winners & Losers

The biggest winners here are the remaining Cowboys edge players.

Marshawn Kneeland, Dante Fowler, Sam Williams, James Houston, and rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku will compete for playing time, likely throughout the season.

I'm not willing to bet on any as a season-opening IDP contributor. All sport some sack upside, though. Ezeiruaku looks like our best shot at total value, if he can prove ready for a full-time role in his debut campaign.