After months of tension, the Dallas Cowboys finally resolved their Parsons saga by trading the All-Pro edge rusher to the Green Bay Packers. But the fallout didn't end there. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Don Van Natta Jr., Micah Parsons' behavior during camp, from showing up without shoes to wearing his practice jersey around his neck to eating nachos on the way to the locker room, began to grate on teammates and staff. Some inside the building describe his energy as ”deflating,” and whispers grew that many were rooting for a trade.
With the Parsons situation still unresolved at the time, Dallas entered the 2025 NFL Draft under a cloud of speculation. Mock drafts had the Cowboys pegged to take a wide receiver at No. 12, yet they pivoted, grabbing guard Tyler Booker before trading for wideout George Pickens in May. Then came a telling move: selecting edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku with the No. 44 pick. The Boston College product led the FBS in quarterback pressures and notched 16.5 sacks in 2024, making him an obvious future building block.
Publicly, team sources insisted Parsons' contract drama did not influence draft strategy, but the overlap was hard to ignore. Especially with veterans Dante Fowler Jr. and Sam Williams on expiring deals, the pick looked like insurance.
Jerry Jones finally addresses Parsons' trade
At the time, Jerry Jones avoided trade talks, maintaining hope that Parsons' trade wouldn't happen and that he might accept Dallas' offer. Historically, the Cowboys also prefer to execute major moves after the draft, when leverage shifts in their favor. That philosophy seemed to guide the Pickens acquisition and reinforced that nothing was imminent with Parsons. Yet by the summer, Dallas began exploring trade options, setting the stage for the blockbuster deal with Green Bay.
Eventually, the situation got worse. Micah accepted the offer and headed directly to Green Bay in exchange for the defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. With this, Jones thanked Parsons for his four seasons in Dallas but admitted the two sides couldn't align on extension talks once he insisted on having his agent directly involved.
“I really like Micah. I appreciate the four years we had him here. He's a great player. No question, I could have signed him in April. … This was by design. I did make Micah an offer, and it wasn't acceptable, and I honored the fact that it wasn't done how he wanted — through an agent,” Jones told reporters, via NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
In hindsight, it's fair to ask: Did the Parsons drama seep into Dallas' draft-day decisions more than the front office let on? The Cowboys insist no, but their moves, especially the quick investment in Ezeiruaku, suggest otherwise. The question lingers, keeping alive the debate at the heart of the headline: Did Micah Parsons' drama impact the Cowboys' draft strategy?
