Cowboys COO Stephen Jones: ‘We feel really good’ about Micah Parsons trade

The Dallas Cowboys’ vision of trading superstar defensive end Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers is simple: It was the right move. “We feel really good about it,” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said of Parsons’ trade to the Green Bay Packers in an interview Tuesday with Mad Dog Sports Radio. “Obviously, a lot of respect for Micah and what he represents, the way he plays and the caliber of player he is, but at the same time, we’re happy with what we added through this trade. “You look at guys like Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, they’re alpha players, who are not only great players on the court, but they’re leaders in the meeting room. How they conduct their business during the offseason; [they] just bring great leadership to this team. We’re adding a guy like Caleb Downs, who’s obviously the same type of character. He’s going to make everyone around him great. Everyone will feed on him. And then the pieces that we’ve added in recent years. We are excited about [Donovan] Ezeiruaku, who was a second-round pick for us last year, who I think everything is ahead of. Packers Parsons, a Pro Bowler in each of his five seasons in the NFL, had a productive first season with the Packers, but it was cut short after 14 games due to a torn ACL. Before the injury, Parsons totaled 12.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and 41 combined tackles, helping him earn his third career All-Pro honor. [More Cowboys: Ranking the 10 Best NFL Offenses Entering Offseason Workouts] Meanwhile, at the 2025 NFL trade deadline, Dallas traded its 2026 second-rounder, a 2027 first-rounder – the highest of the first two rounds the Cowboys have in the 2027 NFL Draft – and defensive lineman and 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith to the New York Jets for defensive tackle and four-time Pro Bowler Quinnen Williams. True, the Cowboys missed the playoffs for a second straight season, finishing 7-9-1. “I’m just very optimistic that we have the right pieces in place to go. Ultimately the decision we made was one player is not worth four or five good ones,” Jones said of the aftermath of the Parsons trade. “We think that’s where we’re going to finish here, in a good position. We had that opportunity there and we didn’t feel like we were one player last year, but I certainly feel like we’re putting the pieces together to give us the opportunity to do what our fans deserve, what we want, which is try to win the big trophy.” As for this latest draft, the Cowboys traded up a spot with the Miami Dolphins to select Ohio State Buckeyes safety and two-time All-American Caleb Downs with the No. 11 pick. They also traded three spots with the Philadelphia Eagles, selecting UCF Knights defensive lineman Malachi Lawrence with the No. 23 pick — which they received from the Packers in the Parsons trade — among other selections.