Dallas Cowboys defensive linemen Quinnen Williams (92) and Kenny Clark (97) line up for a play during a training camp practice on Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Oxnard, Calif. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)
OXNARD, Calif. — As Quinnen Williams met with reporters Thursday to discuss signing a three-year contract extension worth $105.9 million, the man who approved the deal, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, was asked about Williams in relation to the Micah Parsons trade. The Cowboys got a first-round pick and defensive tackle Kenny Clark in the Parsons deal with Green Bay. They eventually sent one of their first-round picks to the New York Jets for Williams. Jones was asked if the Cowboys won the trade, since they ended up with elite defensive tackles. “First of all, I’m not qualifying anything,” Jones said. “Micah’s a great player, otherwise we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to make that kind of trade. That’s why it works. But the fact that we revamped our defense, that was an instigator toward that.” Jones compared the trade to the famous 1989 blockbuster Herschel Walker deal that set up the Cowboys’ 1990s run of three Super Bowl titles. The trade brought in Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson, two key stars toward that run. “Even though Micah’s an outstanding talent anybody would like to have,” Jones said, “the bottom line is that I like what the result of the trade has ended up as I stand here today.” Subscribe Sign up for the Morning Roundup, a free newsletter delivering the latest North Texas news each morning. This article originally published at Jerry Jones: Micah Parsons trade was the 'instigator' to Cowboys' revamped defense.