Go big or go home. The Green Bay Packers went big!
Thursday evening rumbled with aftershocks of an earthquake of a trade between the Packers and the Dallas Cowboys, sending one of the best players in the NFL, regardless of position, to the Fox Valley for a Pro-Bowl caliber player and two first-round draft picks.
When the news broke that the Packers acquired edge rusher and linebacker Micah Parsons from the Cowboys in exchange for Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark and the draft picks, people were left stunned.
To quote one of my best friends, "I'll believe it when I see him in uniform."
The transaction brought back memories of the team signing Reggie White and Charles Woodson, both Hall of Fame players. Parsons is an exceptional player, on track to earn a spot in Canton, but he's not there yet. As a Packer fan, I'm dousing myself with buckets of ice water to keep my enthusiasm in check. (Well, not really dousing myself, but thinking about doing it.)
This deal has several perspectives that are hard to grasp, yet each is important.
It's not just the swap of players that sent out shockwaves strong enough to ruffle Gov. Gavin Newsom's hair; it's also about the Benjamins. Green Bay immediately signed Parsons to a four-year, $188 million extension, $136 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history.
With that, the Pack sends a message to the league that the team believes it's ready for Super Bowl contention.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, also the general manager, determined the move was necessary for the health of the franchise. Officially, the deal keeps the team flexible and stable for the long term. Unofficially, Jones didn't get what he wanted, so he moved on.
Each new season for "America's Team" brings intrigue, more so than any other team. Jones has never met a camera he doesn't like or a microphone unworthy of his velvety voice. In the past few years, similar contract disputes with quarterback Zak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and running back Ezekiel Elliot brought the requisite clamor and attention that Jones used to calm fans down, while applying enough pressure on those players to sign before any permanent damage occurred.
This time, however, things were different. A contract dispute dragged on through the summer, resulting in a full-scale standoff. The Cowboys wanted to maintain leverage, while Parsons sought security, causing the relationship to strain.
Jones used the same playbook that worked for him previously: Hardball. He arrogantly tried negotiating a contract without Parsons' agent at the table, and the linebacker took it personally. How could he not? Although each side complimented the other, any crumbs of trust were scooped up with a Hoover.
Jerry Jones is, quite honestly, heads and shoulders above any other general manager for any sports team. Being the smartest fella in the room, he's able to negotiate contracts while running one of the most famous sports franchises in the world.
Don't believe me? Just ask him.
Since the ignominious split between Jones and Jimmy Johnson in the 1990s, the team's playoff record has been just five playoff wins in 27+ years.
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This deal is compared to the trade of Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings in 1989, where the Cowboys used the draft picks from the deal to build their dynasty. The risk, of course, is that Micah Parsons is more like Lawrence Taylor than Herschel Walker was Walter Payton.
My late ex-father-in-law was an enthusiastic Chicago Cubs fan. One thing that set him apart from other people was that he knew that Cubs ownership had a really good thing in place: sold-out Wrigley Field, a cable TV deal, and teams good enough that it hurt when they were eliminated from playoff contention.
I bring this up because the Dallas Cowboys remind me of those Cubs teams; sold-out stadiums, merchandise deals, and many other revenue-building sources that all Jerry Jones needs to do is keep the team relevant and exciting by bringing in star players and remaining competitive, which he has done year after year.
When trading away a force of nature, the ledger rarely balances in your favor.
Packer defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, demands a four-man pass rush that brings the heat: speed, aggression, and disruption. The defense improved last year and generated some heat, but more often than not, it came from blitzes and stunts, not the four-man front.
Now, Hafley has Babayaga, a player with an uncontainable will, with John Wick's drive and determination, who attacks from the edge or inside, and who can terrorize an A-gap guard. Third-year players linebacker Lukas Van Ness and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt are young and hungry players who will thrive alongside Parsons. Rashan Gary, himself a mostly underrated linebacker, should thrive when teams double-team Parsons.
For a Packers defense that has been good, not great, Parsons is the difference-maker who turns good into feared.
For decades, the Green Bay Packers built winning teams around draft picks and less-than-splashy free-agent signings that didn't break the bank. But for two years in a row, the team's general manager, Brian Gutekunst, pulled off moves that would make Pamela Anderson blush.
Last year, he signed safety Xavier McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs, two uncharacteristically bold moves that gave a young team examples of professional excellence.
I haven't seen anybody in the media make this point yet, but I think the one player on the Packers who will benefit the most from the trade is Quarterback Jordan Love.
The Baltimore Ravens won it all with a quarterback who played a limited role on a team with a dominating defense and strong running game. Trent Dilfer wasn't a bad quarterback; he was smart and played within the system. The Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50 using the same template: an older quarterback—a genius—led a great running game and relied on a stifling defense, allowing Manning to go out in style.
Jordan Love is young, has the pieces in place for a powerful running game, a young and reliable receiving corps, and a defense strong enough to overcome any mistakes he makes, preventing the other team from scoring and giving the ball back to him.
That's a recipe to build a strong quarterback with the skillset and fortitude to win.
Circle the date: Week 4. Packers versus Cowboys in Dallas. Parsons, wearing green and gold, glaring across the line at the star he left behind. If football is about stories, that one writes itself.
Such trades as this are rare occurrences. When they do, they're not remembered as seasons, but the language of decades. Name the teams that dominated decades, with stars that played for those teams, not themselves.
The Green Bay Packers have just pushed all their chips into the middle of the table, betting that Micah Parsons is this generation's Reggie White, their Charles Woodson, a defensive soul who turns good teams into champions.
Dallas chose patience. Green Bay chose risk.
The scoreboard will tell us who chose wisely.
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