The Green Bay Packers made one of the NFL’s biggest swings when they traded two first-round picks and Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys for Micah Parsons in August 2025.
More than a year later, Dallas is still spending some of the haul it received for Parsons. But after its latest move, the way the Cowboys chose to rebuild their defense around that blockbuster trade is starting to look a little different.
Dallas acquired Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on Sept. 30, sending Pittsburgh a 2028 second-round pick and a conditional 2027 sixth-rounder. The move prompted ESPN’s Benjamin Solak to revisit the Parsons trade and the price Dallas has since paid to remake its defense.
Micah Parsons Trade Gets New Context for Packers
Solak pointed directly to what Dallas has done since deciding not to meet Parsons’ price.
“Instead of paying Micah Parsons $46.5M per year, the Cowboys traded him for two Round 1 picks and Kenny Clark. They’ve now traded away a Round 1 and two Round 2 picks for Quinnen Williams and Joey Porter Jr., whom they will pay combined (assuming JPJ extension) ~$65.3M per year,” Solak wrote on X.
Parsons signed a four-year, $188 million extension with Green Bay after the trade, worth $47 million per season with $136 million in total guarantees. Dallas received Clark plus Green Bay’s first-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
Then came Quinnen Williams.
Dallas sent the New York Jets a 2026 second-round pick, the better of its two 2027 first-rounders and defensive tackle Mazi Smith for Williams at the 2025 trade deadline. That 2027 first-rounder came from the pool Dallas held after the Parsons trade.
The Cowboys then signed Williams to a three-year, $105.9 million extension in August 2026, an average of $35.3 million per season.
Now Porter joins the equation.
Cowboys’ Joey Porter Jr. Move Adds Another Layer
The Steelers received a 2028 second-round pick and a conditional 2027 sixth-rounder for Porter, who had been at an impasse with Pittsburgh over a new contract.
Porter is entering the final season of his rookie deal, but Dallas isn’t rushing into an extension. NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported after the trade that the Cowboys plan to let Porter play and make an impact before addressing his contract.
That matters to Solak’s point. His roughly $65.3 million combined figure for Williams and Porter assumes Dallas eventually gives Porter a deal worth around $30 million annually. It isn’t money the Cowboys have committed yet, though.
Still, the asset trail is what makes the Parsons comparison interesting from Green Bay’s side.
Dallas received two first-round picks and Clark for Parsons. It has since used one of those first-rounders, another second-round pick and Smith to acquire Williams, then used another second-round pick and a conditional sixth-rounder to bring in Porter. Williams has already received a major extension, and Porter could eventually require one as well.
The Packers, meanwhile, made the simpler bet: pay the premium price for one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers and build around him.
Whether Dallas’ approach ultimately works will depend heavily on Williams and Porter. But every major move the Cowboys make on defense gives Green Bay another reason to look back at the Parsons trade, especially when Dallas keeps spending high-end draft capital and big money trying to replace the star power it sent away.
Packers’ Micah Parsons Move Takes New Turn After Steelers-Cowboys Joey Porter Jr. Trade