The Green Bay Packers shocked the NFL by trading for Micah Parsons last week. Many analysts viewed the Packers as one piece away from being contenders. Now there is plenty of hype about Green Bay ahead of the 2025 NFL season. But one executive does not sound as sold on the trade.
The Packers received a veiled warning from one NFL executive after their big trade.
While criticizing Jerry Jones for not getting enough in return for Parsons, the executive issued a playoff warning to Green Bay.
“Very bad for Dallas in that they received little compensation in comparison to other superstar prime trades,” one NFC executive said. “It's OK for Green Bay in that their interests are to get beyond the first or second round. I think [Parsons is] a very productive regular season player. I think when teams start running heavy in the playoffs, he becomes less scary.”
Clearly this executive does not view Parsons as a great run defender.
The Packers do take a hit to their run defense by sending away Kenny Clark in the trade. But they will gain an elite pass rusher in Parsons.
Many would argue that it is more than worth it.
Will Micah Parsons help Packers advance in the playoffs during 2025 NFL season?
There's no question that Parsons will improve Green Bay's defense. But can he help them get over the hump in the playoffs?
The threat that Parsons poses for opposing quarterbacks could change everything in the postseason. A player like Parsons draws the attention of opposing offensive coordinators and requires a lot of planning to go against.
In that sense, Parsons will help the Packers in some sense even if he doesn't rack up a ton of sacks in the playoffs.
On the other hand, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones dismissed the idea that Parsons could single-handedly win any team a Super Bowl.
“It takes more than one [player to win a championship] and so you do have to allocate your resources, whether it be draft picks or whether it be finances, you have to allocate those resources,” Jones said per ESPN. “There was no question in our mind that [Micah] could bring us a lot of resources on a trade.”
But unlike the Cowboys, the Packers have a team loaded with talent from top to bottom. Parsons is not the whole ship, but simply the final piece in what could be a championship-caliber team.
Now the Packers just have to prove it on the field.
The Packers open the regular season with a home game against the Lions.
