“I’m not going to say we’re better. We’ve got to go out there and prove it. We had to prove it even if he was on this team, so I’m not going to say that by any means,” Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said in an interview with ESPN’s Todd Archer. But I know what adding a guy like Kenny Clark, adding a true leader, a real man that’s going to only elevate this team, who’s been a Pro Bowl player and is excited about being here [means].”
Days later, and the fallout is just getting started. Prescott is referring to the blockbuster Micah Parsons trade, when the Cowboys sent their defensive cornerstone to the Packers in exchange for DT Kenny Clark and two first-round picks (2026, 2027). It was shocking when it dropped, and the football world is still reeling in the aftermath.
Parsons was the No. 12 overall pick in 2021 and immediately became a force in Dallas. He quickly blossomed into one of the best pass rushers in the league — Parsons was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year multiple times. His contract dispute with the Cowboys was ongoing and getting increasingly publicly hostile, but no one thought it would end like this.
Dak Prescott on the Micah Parsons Trade Fallout
Jayden Mack/GettyGREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 29: Former Dallas Cowboy Micah Parsons speaks to the media during a press conference, after being traded to the Green Bay Packers, at Lambeau Field on August 29, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jayden Mack/Getty Images)
“I know our focus right now is [the Philadelphia Eagles]. I think that’s everybody’s focus in that locker room,” Prescott said, speaking to the team’s mindset as the season begins. “I don’t think anybody’s hung up on [the Parsons trade]. As I’ve said, there’s enough news and enough media about it. I think as much as anything it’s good that a solution happened. Obviously, Micah got paid. He got paid very well and great for him and his family. And we’ll see him here in about a month.”
Prescott was relieved that the saga was over, noting how it could have become a distraction. “Just with the way the way the negotiations went down, obviously to some extent, I mean hell y’all were asking me questions, it seemed like it got personal on [the Cowboys’] end,” he said. “That would have been a lot more of a headache and distraction than getting a solution to it.”
Where Do the Dallas Cowboys Go From Here?
That’s a tough question to answer. Without Parsons, Dallas’ defense loses its sting. He wasn’t just the best defender on the Cowboys, he’s one of the best in the NFL, period. Your team won’t be better without him.
Clark is a good, veteran player who will aid the Cowboys‘ biggest weakness: the interior of their defensive line. And the two first-round picks they acquired could net them great players. But it’s hard to imagine either will amount to a player as good as Parsons, simply because those players rarely come along.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott Breaks Silence on Micah Parsons Trade