GREEN BAY – Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is all in on 2025.

In a blockbuster move, Gutekunst has traded for Dallas Cowboys defensive star Micah Parsons, a source confirmed.

The Packers are giving up two first-round picks and nose tackle Kenny Clark to obtain Parsons, a source said. The picks are in 2026 and ’27.

Reports indicated Parsons will sign a four-year, $188 million extension, which ties him to the Packers through 2029.

He is the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL and the Packers will soon be one of the favorites to win a Super Bowl.

The trade comes after months of contentious negotiations on a contract extension between the Cowboys and Parsons. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones claimed to have a $45 million a year agreement with Parsons, but the deal was not negotiated with Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta.

Mulugheta also represents quarterback Jordan Love.

The Packers won’t have first-round picks the next two seasons, but if Parsons, an edge rusher with multiple talents, helps them win the NFC championship or a Super Bowl, they would be picking in the 30s. The toughest part of the deal is giving up Clark, who has been a staple of the Packers defense for 10 years and was excited about returning to the nose tackle position this season.

Clark was a leader on defense and one of the most respected players in the locker room.

The Packers were around $30 million under the salary cap, so they will be able to eat a sizable chuck of the cap obligation with Parsons in 2025. However, at $47 million a year, with a reported $120 million guaranteed, the Packers are going to be walking a tightrope in future years.

Clark signed a three-year, $64 million contract extension in July 2024 that included a $17.5 million signing bonus.  He was scheduled to count $20.365 million against the cap, but the Packers will actually gain room because they are removing his $3 million in salary and bonuses from their payroll

Instead, he will count $17.3 million against the cap due to previous amortized signing bonuses that don’t go away. Clark will count $17 million against the cap in 2026 because of additional amortized bonuses coming due.

The Parsons deal is the biggest acquisition the Packers have made since signing free agent defensive end Reggie White to a four-year $16 million deal in 1993. The signing turned out to impact not only the team but the community and within three years the Packers were Super Bowl champions.

Parsons isn’t as established in the NFL as White was at the time of his signing, but he is recognized as one of the best defensive players in the game. Parsons is 26 years old, while White was 31 when he joined the Packers.

White and Parsons are the only players to have 12 sacks in each of their first four seasons in the NFL, but White was a pure pass rusher and dominant player against the run. Parsons isn’t the same kind of pass rusher as White because he doesn’t line up with his hand in the ground down after down.

Parsons only received one vote – a fourth place − for defensive player of the year in ’24, but he finished third behind Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt and received seven first-place votes in ’23. Parsons finished second in ’22 behind San Francisco’s Nick Bosa (no first-place votes) and second behind Watt in ’21.

A big question is when and how much will Parsons play. He has not taken part in training camp with the Cowboys and will taking part in a “hold-in”, where he reported to camp to avoid fines but cited a back injury as a reason not to practice. In the final year of his rookie deal, Parsons sought a contract extension before he stepped on the field in 2025.

The Packers will have to figure out whether his back injury is real and whether they can play him against the Detroit Lions Sept. 7 and the Washington Commanders four days later. Parsons hasn’t practiced since training camp began and the Packers probably don’t want to risk him getting hurt because he hadn’t taken part in any football work.

The Packers often inquire about available players even if they know the price is too high. There had been reports that the Packers had inquired about Parsons, but Gutekunst would not speak on the matter.

In four seasons with the Cowboys, Parsons, the 12th pick in the 2021 draft, has been voted first-team All-Pro twice and second-team All-Pro once. He has made the Pro Bowl all four seasons.

He has started all 63 games in which he has played and has 52½ sacks and 256 tackles. His lowest output for sacks came in 2024 when he compiled 12 in 13 games. He missed four games in ’24 because of a high ankle sprain.

Thank you Dallas ….. GO Pack Go! 🧀🟢🟡 pic.twitter.com/FBnN1zRIri

— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) August 28, 2025

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Parsons is a hybrid linebacker/defensive end. The Cowboys have moved him around the line of scrimmage to take advantage of his ability to rush the passer, cover backs and tight ends, and play the run.

In Green Bay, it’s likely he’ll be used at defensive end opposite Rashan Gary. Drafted in the first round in 2019, Gary has 39 career sacks and is coming off his first Pro Bowl season. He had 7½ sacks last season.

The addition of Parsons may give the Packers one of the most athletic linebacker/defensive end groups in the NFL. Parsons will team with Gary, second-year linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and veteran linebacker Quay Walker, all of whom are fast athletes who can cover a lot of ground.

Most importantly, Parsons gives defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley the ability to rush the passer with just four players, something he did a year ago with only modest success. The Packers ranked fifth in the NFL in total defense, but they ranked 10th in sacks per pass play (7.96%).

Hafley had talked during training camp of the possibility of using Cooper in multiple spots around the field to take advantage of his play-making ability. Cooper is considered an emerging player with Pro Bowl potential after excelling at weakside linebacker in his rookie season.

Now, Hafley gets a player who regularly gets votes for defensive player of the year and will join a team whose defense was expecting to take a big jump this year. The Packers have plucked two playmakers from the NFC East, first signing safety Xavier McKinney during the 2024 offseason and now acquiring Parsons from the Cowboys.

McKinney was a first-team All-Pro in his first season with the Packers.

Losing Clark means the Packers will have to lean heavily on undrafted rookie Nazir Stackhouse to play nose tackle. The Packers don’t have any other true nose tackles and may need to sign someone off the street who can play the position. In their 4-3, its possible rookie Warren Brinson, who is 6-5, 315 pounds, can play there and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt might be able to also.

Gutekunst said in a press release: “We want to thank Kenny for the incredible impact he made in the locker room, on the field and in the community during his nine seasons in Green Bay,” said Gutekunst. “From the time he arrived in 2016, Kenny established himself as one of the top defensive tackles in the league and in the history of this franchise with his production, durability and leadership. He had the respect of everyone in the organization and epitomized what it meant to be a Green Bay Packer. Kenny will be greatly missed, and we wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future.”