Why Did Packers Trade for Micah Parsons? One Word Says It All

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers didn’t move heaven and earth to trade for Micah Parsons, but they did give up talent and treasure.

For the steep price of two first-round picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, general manager Brian Gutekunst traded for Micah Parsons on Thursday.

“The picks and the financial part of it, that’s always a lot,” Gutekunst said on Friday in setting the stage for Parsons’ introductory news conference. “But, at the same time, this is a very unique player that rarely becomes available to us.

“So, a little bit like X(avier McKinney) and Josh Jacobs, there’s just not a lot of these players at this point in their career where their best football is ahead of them that become available. Every opportunity that we have to improve the football team, now and in the future, we’re going to take a look at. Certainly, this was something we were going to take a look at, and then we were just fortunate enough that we were able to get it across the finish line.”

So many times over the years, the Packers weren’t able to get it across the finish line. Trade deadlines came and went. High-profile players flirted with the Packers but signed elsewhere.

This time, Gutekunst got his guy.

Why?

Because, like Gutekunst said, Parsons is a “very unique player.”

“Unique” was the word of the day. During a 20-minute news conference that started with Gutekunst thanking Clark for being an “exceptional player and exceptional person,” Gutekunst used the word “unique” seven times. Four times, he said the opportunity to acquire a player like Parsons was “rare.”

So, 10 days before the start of the season, Gutekunst sacrificed future drafts and the ability to re-sign his own free agents because Parsons is unique.

“Obviously a player like Micah, he’s very unique and very rare is it that they’re available,” Gutekunst said. “As this kind of came together, it was one of those things where it was a unique opportunity for us, and it was going to cost. There was going to be some expense with it, but we just kind of thought it was the best thing for our football team. We’re excited to get him. We’re excited to get him out there and get him with our team so he can get up to speed as fast as possible.”

A first-round pick in 2021, Parsons has played four seasons and been selected to four Pro Bowls. A first-team All-Pro in 2021 and 2022 and a second-team All-Pro in 2023, Parsons over the last four years ranks fifth in sacks, quarterback pressures, quarterback knockdowns and tackles for losses.

Instead of what should have been a no-brainer contract extension, talks bogged down. Gutekunst reached out to the Cowboys and didn’t stop for one reason.

Because Parsons is unique.

“I think the chances of these things happening are pretty slim, and I think that was my mindset the whole time was keep the conversations going because of the uniqueness of the player. But I don’t think it was really until the last few days that I actually thought, ‘Hey, there’s an opportunity here to close this thing out.’

“And in fairness, I’ve been through a bunch of these that no one’s ever heard of that that’s how it goes. You talk, you talk and then you really realize it’s really not an opportunity. So, when the opportunity opened a little bit and you really thought that this could happen, it was exciting and we kept in it.”

Parsons is a unique talent. He can wreck games as a defensive end and as a linebacker. He’s got the speed to win around the edge, the power to run up the middle and the relentlessness to beat whoever’s in his path. Of the players ahead of him on those sack and TFL lists, Parsons is the youngest at age 26. His record-setting contract is his second in the NFL; the others on their third.

That the Packers – perhaps the ultimate draft-and-develop franchise – gave up first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 and made Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history tells you all you need to know about the franchise-shifting talent they acquired.

And while Gutekunst steadfastly said he believes a team is never “one player away,” trading for Parsons speaks to the unique opportunity to compete for a championship.

“When you’re dealing with trading picks for a player and giving up a player, it’s a little bit tough,” Gutekunst said. “When you’re just giving picks for picks, you can use those numbers [in trade-value charts] and things like that. I think every team is different. There could be times that this might not make sense for some of the teams we’ve had in the past but for our team right now I felt that this was an opportunity to make us a little bit more diverse in what we want to do on defense.

“It really comes down to the player. These opportunities to acquire these players just don’t come around. Not only a talent like this but one who’s proven in the league, whose best football is ahead of him. It was a very unique opportunity to acquire a player like this. In my time, there hasn’t been very many opportunities like this in the past. Again, I think it’s our responsibility to make sure that we entertain that and see if it’s possible.”

From Dallas’ perspective, getting Clark was key part to the deal. A pillar of the franchise, including him in the trade meant for a short-lived and muted celebration from Gutekunst and the rest of the organization.

But Parson was worth it, and you know the one-word reason why.

“That’s always tough but, at the same time, our job is to make those decisions and we felt we made a good decision for our football team,” Gutekunst said. “We’ll see. We’ve got a long way to go. It’s a team game. We’ve won no games so far. We’ve got to get him up to speed and into our scheme and see how that fits. Like I said, it was a unique opportunity to add a very unique player. We were excited about that.”

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