Superstar pass rusher joined Packers in stunning swoop that delivered Super Bowl and Tom Brady
The list of players to have at least 12 sacks in their first four seasons is short.
Micah Parsons and Reggie White.
Getting to the QB remains the fastest way to slow down an opposing offense and it is hard to imagine why an owner would trade away a superstar pass-rusher.
That is exactly what Dallas Cowboys chief Jerry Jones did Thursday in a move that stunned Michael Irvin, who had just gone live on air to guarantee that the billionaire wasn't stupid enough to trade Parsons away.
Jones claims the move will set Dallas up as a playoff contender for years to come.
"This was a move to get us successful in the playoffs," he said in a press conference that saw him repeatedly get his former star's name wrong.
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"This was a move to be better on defense, stopping the run. This was a move to, if we get behind, not be run on. And it was a deliberate move, a well-thought-out move to make this happen.
"In our judgement, this gives us a better chance to be a better team than we have been the last several years."
The proof will be in the pudding and, in a worrying sign for Jones, the Green Bay Packers have previous.
With Jordan Love under center and first-round pick Matthew Golden bolstering a talented WR corps, the Packers may have just been gifted the missing ingredient needed to get them over the line.
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They gave up two firsts and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, as well as making Parsons the best-paid non-QB in NFL history.
But history is on their side.
In 1993, the Packers landed a generational pass rusher in White thanks to a blunder from an NFC rival.
The NFL had just brought in free agency to shake up the offseason and the Philadelphia Eagles decided to take a major gamble.
White dominated in Philly with 124 sacks across eight years. He should never have been allowed to test the market.
But he did, and desperate Green Bay decided to make a play on the 31-year-old -- a two-time NFL sack leader and Defensive Player or the Year.
With just one postseason win in 25 years, the franchise needed a spark, and got a lightning rod.
White joined on a four-year, $17 million deal -- becoming the third-best player in the league behind John Elway and Dan Marino.
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He played six seasons in Wisconsin and took the franchise sack record with 68.5 (he is still third all-time).
The Hall of Famer cemented his legacy by beating the New England Patriots to lift Super Bowl XXXI in 1997. Brett Favre got his sole ring and Drew Bledsoe was denied in a blow that may ultimately have changed history as Tom Brady was tasked with doing what his successor couldn't.
Green Bay Packers' Super Bowl chances
The team Parsons is joining is far better than the one that bagged White.
Green Bay finished third in the NFC North in 2024.
But an 11-6 record was still good enough for the playoffs -- the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings were just too strong.
It is a stacked division, with the Chicago Bears also expected to improve, but Green Bay is set at QB, has plenty of skill position talents and a highly-regarded head coach in Matt LaFleur.
Now, a solid defense that ranked third in the NFL with 19.9 points conceded per game in 2024 has the unstoppable playmaker it lacked.
The last time a Packer hit double digit sacks was 2020, when Za’Darius Smith had 12.5 for a team which won its division before falling to the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.
Parsons has, of course, hit the mark in all four seasons as a pro and Rashan Gary could join him with offenses forced to account for the former Cowboy.
Players like Parsons do not become available very often.
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Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has made his play -- if it works, Jones could be getting angry phone calls from 30 frustrated owners.
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