The long-running contract dispute between the Dallas Cowboys and Micah Parsons finally came to an end on Thursday, as Jerry Jones, who stated less than a week earlier that he had no intentions of trading his disgruntled superstar, did just that, shipping the four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher to the Green Bay Packers.
In return, America's Team received a 2026 first-round draft selection, a 2027 first-rounder, and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, whom Green Bay took in the first round of the 2016 draft with the 27th overall pick.
Both players involved in the deal spoke with the media on Friday, with each explaining how they found out what had transpired. Clark says he was getting his daughter some ice cream when he got the news. He admitted to being taken aback at first, but says it sank in when he got a phone call. "I was shocked, but once Jerry [Jones] and all those guys called me, Schotty and everybody, I just felt wanted. It's a blessing, I'm appreciative of it," Clark said. So, Clark gets a phone call that includes Jerry Jones, as he should, and that's great.
Parsons, meanwhile, had his introductory press conference on Friday for the Packers and was asked how he found out. More specifically, he was asked if he had been informed by either Jerry or Stephen Jones, or if he had received the news from his agent, David Mulugheta, to which Parsons replied, "Pretty much all through David," and simply shrugged his shoulders.
So, no phone call from Jerry (or Stephen) for Micah. Yeah, that's about right. I mean, so much of this saga over the last few months centered around the fact that there was no communication between the two sides for months. So, why would anyone, especially Parsons himself, expect the end of said saga to be any different?
As Parsons tells it, he and Jones met back in the spring to discuss leadership. As one would expect, the subject of Parsons' contract extension came up, but Micah never felt that it was a formal negotiation and told Jones that Mulugheta would be reaching out to "get things done." But when Mulugheta reached out, the Cowboys just didn't respond. And things just got worse and worse from there.
With the lack of communication and absolutely zero progress, Parsons ultimately requested a trade. And while both sides did plenty of talking in the media about the situation, they failed to do any talking with each other, at least not until things reached a boiling point.
In the aftermath of the deal on Thursday, it was reported that Parsons went to the Joneses with "empathy" after trade rumors were leaked earlier this week about signing an extension. And the Cowboys responded by telling him to play on the fifth-year option of his contract or leave town. Jerry Jones confirmed that this did indeed happen, by the way. So, that's apparently the talking that went down.
Parsons legit seemed a little disappointed in his presser that he didn't get the goodbye/thank you call from Jones. And he should be. Because it's a call that Jerry should've made.
Perhaps the two will find time to chat when Parsons and the Packers visit the Cowboys for a Sunday Night Football matchup in Week 4. But that might involve one of the two sides making a call to set something up. And we've all seen how that plays out.