Packers’ Trade for Micah Parsons Answers One Question, Creates Another

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Problem solved.

Problem created?

The Green Bay Packers made a franchise-shifting trade for defensive end Micah Parsons on Thursday.

The Packers, with one of the most inconsistent pass rushes in the NFL last season, might have the most unstoppable pass rush in the NFL this season. Parsons, Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness, if he takes a step forward in Year 3 as the team expects, could form an indomitable, havoc-creating trio.

For Parsons, it’s not just the sacks – though there’s a lot of those. In four seasons, Parsons has 52.5 sacks. Parsons and Reggie White are the only players in NFL history with 12-plus sacks in each of their first four seasons. Only Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Trey Hendrickson and Nick Bosa have more sacks than Parsons over that span.

It’s the pressure. The relentless pressure.

Over those four seasons, Parsons is tied with Hendrickson for fifth with 112 pressures and tied for fourth with 59 knockdowns.

Last year, Parsons finished third in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate. Green Bay’s defense, which was top 10 in sacks, ranked 26th in win rate.

According to Pro Football Focus, Parsons ranked fifth among edge rushers last season with 70 pressures, even though he missed four games due to injury.

Including Gary, Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare, there were 78 edge rushers with at least 230 pass-rushing snaps. Parsons finished second in PFF’s pass-rush productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap. Gary was 37th, Enagbare was 55th and Van Ness, who played one-handed for most of the season, was 63rd.

“At times, we were dominant,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Wednesday. “You know, it was one of those things where you wanted to be dominant more consistently.”

The addition of DeMarcus Covington had coach Matt LaFleur excited even before the trade.

“Personally, I think that we’ve done a better job just with a lot of our games up front, just being a little bit tighter, not allowing loose pockets where a quarterback can get loose and carve you up with his legs,” LaFleur said on Wednesday.

“Condensing the pocket, there’s nothing that quarterbacks hate more. It’s not comfortable for them when that pocket starts to get engulfed around them, and I think our guys have done a really nice job of understanding just how to keep that rush lane integrity.”

Parsons will be the ultimate X-factor. He can win on the edge. He can win up the middle. He can win with games. He led the NFL with 103 pressures in 2023 and was tied for first with 90 in 2022.

He was a “chess piece” for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer last year.

“He’s brilliant, No. 1,” Zimmer said last year. “He understands football, No. 2.”

Now comes the big question. Pun intended.

As part of the trade, the Packers sent three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Cowboys. Clark isn’t getting any younger, and that perhaps showed in his play last season. Still, he’s a big, experienced, tough guy in the middle.

Defensive tackle already was a weakness for the Packers, even though they kept six on the roster. There isn’t a proven, reliable run-stopper on the team between the remaining players at the position. Devonte Wyatt was a first-round pick in 2022 because of his ability as a pass rusher and not a run defender. Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden have not been stout run defenders. Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse are rookies.

Stackhouse, because of his size, is best-suited for that role, but he’s an undrafted free agent. To expect him to hold up against premier offensive linemen would be foolish.

So, the question moving forward is can the Packers stop the run at a level sufficient to unleash Parsons, Gary and Van Ness? It will help that all three are excellent run defenders. It also will help that Edgerrin Cooper is atop the depth chart at linebacker.

In his debut season as defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley helped build a unit that finished seventh in rushing yards allowed per game and third in rushing yards allowed per carry.

You have to earn the right to rush the passer. Without a proven run-stopping defensive tackle, the pressure will be on everybody to create those third-and-longs when Parsons and Co. can feast.

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