The Jones V. Parsons saga has seen its conclusion, as the Dallas Cowboys exchanged former All-Pro Micah Parsons for two first round picks and Defensive Tackle, Kenny Clark, from the Packers. This new case of Jerry Jones mismanagement has one important message lying beneath the see-through surface of this trade:

The future failure of the Cowboys season rests solely on Jerry

Jerry Jones is the one who set the fuse for the demolition of the Dallas Cowboys’ 2025 season. With reports of Parsons practically begging Jones to extend him at least since the end of the 2024 season in January, even choosing to keep his asking price where it was rather than waiting for other defensive stars to ink their extensions. When Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby got his 3-year $106.5 million extension in March, it put him at $35.5 million per season, which for the time was the highest non-quarterback salary in the NFL.

This was quickly surpassed after the Browns made Myles Garrett the new highest paid non-quarterback 4 days later, with a 4-year, $160 million extension, putting Garrett’s yearly salary at $40 million. The non-quarterback salary market was ballooning right in front of Jerry’s face, and he continued to ignore Parsons. And as Micah still sat without contract, the problem Jerry curated had grown too big for himself to handle.

Already paying CeeDee Lamb & Dak Prescott 21% of the cap this year, Jerry folded when faced with another “Pay me” sign. He bizarrely began attempting to negotiate with Parsons without his agent present, a clear violation of the NFL’s CBA. Micah eventually asked out of Dallas, in a post on X earlier this month. Finally, after a media tirade about their negotiations and his gripes with Parsons’ agent, Jerry choked on his words and jumped on the offer thrown at him by Green Bay.

This trade stinks of late career incompetence from Dallas’ perspective. In one swift action they dumped their best player they’ve had on a roster since Terrell Owens & turned a cross-conference rival into a super bowl contender. Even if you raise the issue of the expensive bill owed to Micah that the Packers ended up footing instantly, that problem could have been resolved had Jerry paid Micah when he went to the front office before the market began to inflate; when Micah was ready. Had Jerry Jones listened to his All-pro, Pro Bowl, Defensive Player of The Year caliber player, the Cowboys would have Parsons on the roster, ready to rush Jalen Hurts on Thursday next week, at a cheaper price than the Packers are paying him.

Dallas did get two first-round draft picks from Green Bay, along with pro bowler defensive tackle, Kenny Clark. Even though those first round picks are much needed to fill out this front-loaded roster with more talent, and Clark & his plethora of defensive talents will absolutely add to the Dallas Cowboys’ defense this season, I can’t shake the feeling the Cowboys just got worse for the next half decade at least. If Micah just stagnates and remains the player he was with Dallas in Green Bay, those two first-rounders will essentially become high 2nd round picks. And although Kenny Clark’s really good, he’s three years older than Parsons and is nowhere in the same class as Micah talent wise, who’s arguably one of the 3 best defensive players in football.

Now let’s give Jerry and his Cowboys some credit and look at the best case scenario. Even if the Packers’ first round picks might be low, they’re still additional draft capital that could go towards adding talent to their pass rush and secondary. Given that they weren’t the team to pay Micah the record-breaking extension, that added cap wiggle-room could be used to deepen the running back room, and give their franchise quarterback a run game with a rebounding offensive line, which in turn would free up the passing game for their talented and slightly underrated wide receiver room. All considerable feats for first time NFL head coach Brian Schottenheimer to be asked to tackle.

With exactly a week from their first regular season game this year, Jerry once again has his team and coaching staff at a significant disadvantage. Schottenheimer and first-year, freshly fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus will be without the team’s best player, going against the biggest offensive line and the best run game a year ago. Check on your nearest Cowboys fan next Thursday.