- The Green Bay Packers traded for star linebacker Micah Parsons, significantly boosting their Super Bowl chances.
- Green Bay paid a hefty price, including two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, but secured Parsons on a record-breaking contract.
- Without Parsons, the Pack still generated 45 sacks in 2024.
The Green Bay Packers elevated themselves into the NFC’s premier tier – if not all the way to the top – following Thursday’s blockbuster trade with the Dallas Cowboys for edge rusher and linebacker Micah Parsons, one of the game’s best defensive players.
One news cycle is all it took for Packers fans from Kenosha to Eau Claire to start having Super Bowl dreams. Rightfully so.
In the playoffs, rushing attacks and defense travel. Quarterback Jordan Love has played better in the second halves of back-to-back seasons and, should he be healthy, the list of teams capable of knocking off the Packers is short. Like, Eagles, Lions (maybe?), end-of-list short. And I know who I’ll now be picking to represent the NFC in California at Super Bowl 60.
You might laugh at the idea of Parsons making the Packers even more of a Super Bowl contender. I laughed at the idea of Parsons playing for any team outside of the greater Dallas metro area. Comedy can precede reality.
Green Bay secured Parsons for an additional four years on a deal worth $188 million with $136 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Sacrificing two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark for a two-time All-Pro who has recorded at least 12 sacks in a season? Clark will be missed in the middle of the defensive line, but if Green Bay can realize its postseason potential, the picks in the 20s could be less consequential.
At 26, the Packers will have the pleasure of employing Parsons through the rest of his 20s. I’m no GM, but acquiring a player of Parson’s caliber on the right side of his expected prime can only be a good thing.
The circumstances of arrival aren’t the same, but Reggie White’s signing with the Packers before the 1993 season is similar to the Parsons trade. White was second in Defensive Player of the Year voting his first season in Green Bay. Four seasons after he signed, the Packers were Super Bowl champions. The Packers are hoping for a more immediate return on investment this time, with the NFL’s latest dynasty, the Kansas City Chiefs, playing in the AFC. Gone are the NFC powerhouse dynasties of the 1990s in the San Francisco 49ers and Cowboys.
Green Bay made six consecutive postseasons following White’s arrival. But getting into the dance hasn’t been the issue for the Pack since Aaron Rodgers led them to a victory in Super Bowl 45 over the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2010 season. Making it to the final game of the season has been the challenge, and Parsons’ presence raises their chance of making it through the NFC gauntlet.
The production won’t happen immediately, since Parsons is apparently nursing some sort of back ailment – a negotiating tactic with Dallas, perhaps – and sat out training camp. The Week 2 ‘Thursday Night Football’ game between the Packers and Commanders is now that much juicier.
Famously, the Packers do not have a singular owner (or ownership group), which may be a welcome development for Parsons and his representation in the wake of his contract dispute with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys’ front office that played out publicly and, clearly, didn’t end well.
Kudos to Packers general manager Brian Gutenkust for pulling off the deal amid the scrutiny of social-media narratives and a franchise legend openly messing around online (turns out manifestation is a powerful tool). Ed Policy, the franchise’s new CEO who took over for Mark Murphy last month, deserves credit for allowing Gutenkust to spend that type of resources – surrendering quarterback-level compensation in the process.
Love is on a mega-extension, offensive lineman Zach Tom signed a big deal this offseason and Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney were brought in as a free agents prior to last season. The front office has identified a window and is going for it. Ask a Cowboys fan (or a Mavericks fan, sorry Dallas) – that’s not always the case.
If Parsons can replicate his production over the next four seasons (52.5 sacks), he’d be 10th on the all-time Green Bay sack list. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, entering his second season in Green Bay, should be doing backflips on the tarmac at Austin Strabel International Airport to greet Parsons and thank him for the immediate augmentation he provides to the Packers’ pass rush.
The Packers tied for eighth in sacks as a team last season with 45. They were middle-of-the-pack with 94 quarterback hits and toward the bottom of the league in sack percentage (7.4). But Parsons joining up with Rashan Gary, Edgerrin Cooper and Lukas Van Ness is problematic for playcallers in the stacked NFC North and beyond.
Compared to the Packers, the Eagles still have the better roster. Repeating as champions is no easy task, however. Winning both games last season against Green Bay, the Lions have the recent momentum. The Commanders (run game, defense) and Rams (Matthew Stafford’s back) have question marks.
If pre-Week 1 thoughts are meant to be intrusive, let this one float in the cranial membrane for a moment: the Packers are going to the Super Bowl.
