The Dallas Cowboys have done the unthinkable, trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for two first-round picks and defensive lineman Kenny Clark.
Could this go down as the worst trade in NFL history?
I'm not sure anything will top some of the deals that have gone down in the past when apparently decision-makers in the NFL were even more unhinged, but for the modern day, this is as bad as it gets.
Cowboys trade of Micah Parsons could be the worst in NFL history
The Cowboys have been on the other side of historic trades in NFL history, most notably the Herschel Walker trade. And that trade is still something Jerry Jones wears like someone who's been graduated for two decades still wearing their high school letterman's jacket.
The absolute worst trade in NFL history has to be the Cleveland Browns sending three first-round picks (and then some) for quarterback Deshaun Watson. Giving up three first-round picks for literally any player is a wild decision to make, but considering the allegations against Watson, the Browns giving up what they did (plus the contract) is indefensible.
Not far behind that is the Denver Broncos' recent trade to acquire Russell Wilson, which cost them multiple first-round picks, multiple Day 2 picks, and three players (Noah Fant, Shelby Harris, and Drew Lock). Although none of the players the Broncos gave up turned out to be consequential, it's nothing short of miraculous that they've been able to get back on track after all the draft capital they surrendered to Seattle for less than two years of Russell Wilson (and the NFL's highest dead cap hit ever).
But those trades were only awful in hindsight. The Cowboys' decision to trade Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers is an awful move now. In the moment.
There's nothing about this deal that seems right for the Cowboys. They are much closer to being Super Bowl contenders with Parsons than without. The two first-round picks they are receiving in the trade are going to be in the mid-20s at best. They didn't get any additional selections, and the player they got in return is a good one, but he's going to be 30 in October.
This move is clearly Jerry Jones being upset that he was embarrassed, or whatever you want to call it, by the public behavior of Parsons. And frankly, it should never have gotten to that point. The Cowboys should have paid Parsons what he wanted, considering he's averaged over 13 sacks per season since coming into the league and has more pressures than any other player.
We won't know for years at this point whether those draft picks are going to work out for the Cowboys. Given the fact that Dak Prescott is 32 years old, trading a 26-year-old cornerstone piece of the defense feels more than ill-timed. Regardless of how the draft picks work out, this was a horrendous move by Jones, and one of the worst in modern football history.