After back-to-back disappointing seasons, it looks like the Dallas Cowboys are poised to enter the playoff hunt once again in the NFC. While injuries derailed them in 2024, last year had a much simpler explanation.
The defense was in shambles for most of the year, and it was easy to see why. Trading a then four-time, now five-time Pro Bowler like Micah Parsons can be a culture shock to his side of the ball, but owner and general manager Jerry Jones still believes he made the right choice.
Jerry Jones Isn’t Backing Down From Micah Parsons
Even as the contract negotiation dragged on, it felt inevitable that Parsons would return to the Cowboys. A former first-round pick, he had been a perennial Defensive Player of the Year contender and had three All-Pro selections in his first four seasons.
But right before their season got underway, the league was hit with a bombshell when they traded the Penn State product to the Green Bay Packers. As he went on to have an excellent season before a torn ACL, the Cowboys collapsed on the defensive side of the ball.
Ranked dead last on PFN’s Defense Impact Metric, it held the team back in a major way, leading to a 7-9-1 record that saw them miss the playoffs for the second straight season. This year, the team has spent a ton of resources on rebuilding that side of the ball.
But Jones remains about his original decision. Before they began their preseason slate against the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, he spoke on the pregame show about the infamous trade.
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“I’m a big believer that it takes not a shake, but an earthquake to really be an instigator or some indication that there’s gonna be some real change. And I think we did that,” Jones said. “I think we did that when we traded Micah (Parsons). That was purpose. It caused us to do more dramatic things with our roster and with our coaching staff… We need to get in some playoffs. We need to compete at that kind of level.”
In the ownership role for over three decades, Jones believes they achieved it through the trade.
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Moreover, he reiterated the narrative that he first stuck to after initially trading Parsons, trying to discredit him as a bad defender against the run.
“They’ve been running through us when we got (in the playoffs),” Jones added. “We needed to address it. And we’ve done it about as well as we could.”
Since trading Parsons, the Cowboys have been aggressive, acquiring Quinnen Williams and Rashan Gary via other trades to bolster their defense.
It remains to be seen if his master plan bears fruit this season. But with an offense that was firing on all cylinders last season, and a revamped defensive personnel group, it might work out for the Cowboys’ benefit in the long run.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.