NFL fans are likely to play the “what if” game with edge rusher Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys for a long time coming. The edge rusher was playing the game, of sorts, himself while speaking to Cowboys insider Clarence Hill during Super Bowl week.
Specifically, Parsons voiced regret over how his relationship with Cowboys president Jerry Jones deteriorated prior to his trade to the Green Bay Packers last August.
“I just wish some of those things never happened,” Parsons told Hill on Tuesday, via Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams. “You know what I mean? I wish that he never brought me into the office and just let the agent speak.
“And I wish he hadn’t compromised our relationship. I thought me and Jerry had a good relationship up to that point until this offseason, and it’s sad that it went to [expletive] like that.”
Micah Parsons Stresses ‘No Bad Blood’ Between Him & Jerry Jones
It would be easy to conclude the Packers edge rusher still holds some resentment about what happened last summer. Clearly, he has regrets.
But Parsons expressed he has no ill-will toward the Cowboys, specifically Jones.
“I don’t know about Jerry, but I have no bad blood,” Parsons added with Hill. “If I saw Jerry today, I would shake hands with him and say thank you for the opportunity I had to be a Cowboy.”
At the time, the trade was painful for both the Cowboys and Parsons. Jones told NFL media last August he believed the team and edge rusher had an agreement in place. Parsons clearly didn’t see that, and the negotiations obviously strained his relationship with the organization.
The mess ended in a shocking blockbuster trade. The Cowboys dealt Parsons to the Packers on August 28 in a trade that involved two first-round picks and Pro Bowl defensive lineman Kenny Clark.
Revisiting the Packers-Cowboys Blockbuster Parsons Trade
Looking back on the trade five months later, all sides have benefitted in some way. Parsons landed a four-year, $188 million contract. The deal included a record-setting $136 million guaranteed.
In Parsons, Green Bay has one of the top edge rushers in the league. Still only 26 years old, Parsons made first-team All-Pro with 12.5 sacks last season.
The edge rusher has reached at least 12 sacks in all five of his NFL campaigns.
One could argue Parsons was passive-aggressive in his approach while discussing Jones ahead of the Super Bowl. But again, the edge rusher stressed he isn’t on bad terms with the Cowboys executive.
Parsons also emphasized he can’t complain about where he landed.
“There’s only two people who know the real truth — me and Jerry Jones,” Parsons said. “I’m not mad or anything. I went to another historic organization. I got paid a historic amount. So I got really nothing to be mad about in this world.”
As for the Cowboys, they have extra first-round picks in 2026 and 2027. Those selections could help Dallas replace Parsons.
The likelihood of the Cowboys finding another Parsons, though, is rather low. The edge rusher is a generational talent that is now locked in on a Green Bay contract.
Packers’ Micah Parsons Airs out Grievances With Cowboys’ Jerry Jones