No One Is Out Of Bounds: Eagles Discussed Jalen Carter In Potential Trade For Micah Parsons

There are very few untouchables in the NFL, and even fewer players who are so entrenched that they escape the inevitable brainstorming sessions common in a hyper-competitive industry.

In the best organizations, every player is discussed openly and honestly in real time. If fans heard some of those talks, the reaction wouldn’t be positive in many cases to say the least.

The best example of that thesis was New York Giants’ GM Joe Schoen on HBO’s inaugural “Hard Knocks: Offseason,” where viewers got to see the inner workings of Saquon Barkley’s exit from the Giants organization.

That's also the reason few of the other league decision-makers want cameras invading their personal space and processes, at least without full editorial control.

Around the NFL, it's no secret that the Eagles’ brass has long admired superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons, and when things went south with the Harrisburg native and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones last spring and summer, Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman sensed an opportunity.

Although it was unlikely that the volatile Jones would dare deal Parsons in the division, Roseman was intent on paying a “division tax” to get it done, according to an NFL source.

The Jalen Carter Tax?

FOX’s Jay Glazer confirmed that Philadelphia offered the “biggest deal” for Parsons, tracking it down to two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and a Day 3 draft choice, “amongst other things” for Parsons and some draft compensation coming back to Philly.

The Cowboys would ultimately trade Parsons to the Green Bay Packers days before the 2025 regular season for first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, as well as defensive tackle Kenny Clark.

Parsons himself may have revealed the “other things” on his Podcast, Bleacher Report’s “The Edge.”

“It was very close. It was very close,” Parsons said in San Francisco ahead of the Super Bowl LX between Seattle and New England on Sunday. “The Eagles, before Jaelan Phillips and all of them, it was me. It was me.

"And I was really about to come.”

Parsons, who was ironically joined by Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, along with Panthers quarterback Bryce Young on his show, went on to explain why the deal didn’t happen from his side of the equation.

“There was one person that I had to play with. If he was gone, I did not want to be there. And that was Jalen Carter,” Parsons said. “(Dallas) wanted a D-tackle, and they wanted to trade me, plus some picks. I don’t really care about the picks. But I’m coming to play next to JC, you feel me?”

The intimation was that Roseman was sending Carter to Dallas in the proposed deal, which tracks because Jones was insistent on improving the interior of his defensive line last season, not only getting Clark but spinning off part of the Parsons’ haul he did get to Green Bay for Quinnen Williams.

Carter went on to have an uneven season for the Eagles, plaqued by persisent shoulder pain that cost cost the emerging star six games and affected his play in others.

Fast forward to the 2026 offseason in which Philadelphia has already gone through significant change on the coaching staff and has a plethora of significant personnel decisions to make, it would be wise to understand just about everything is on the table if Roseman sees a path to improve his roster.

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