The Green Bay Packers completed the biggest trade of the offseason last week, swinging a deal with the Dallas Cowboys to acquire Micah Parsons.
Many wondered how the Packers were able to be all stealthy in nabbing Parsons. Did the Cowboys talk to other teams? Did Parsons force his way to Green Bay?
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Well, apparently, the Packers simply beat everyone else to the punch. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Don Van Natta Jr. have reported that there were three other teams interested in Parsons, but that the Packers were clearly the most aggressive in trying to get a deal done.
“Had the deal fallen apart, at least three other teams were interested, and the Cowboys would not have traded Parsons within the division,” Fowler and Van Natta wrote. “One team told ESPN it wasn’t interested because it felt the price was too high for a player who might turn out to be a headache. Another believed Dallas wouldn’t trade Parsons until next spring and indicated they might be interested then.”
So, basically, one team didn’t want to absorb the risk that Parsons carries, and another club was essentially asleep at the wheel.
Green Bay reaped the benefits of the negligence of rival squads, adding one of the best players in football to a roster that already had Super Bowl potential prior to even acquiring Parsons.
Parsons registered 43 tackles and 12 sacks in 13 games last season and has logged double-digit sacks in each of his first four NFL campaigns. Overall, the 26-year-old has accumulated 52.5 sacks thus far in his career, making four Pro Bowl appearances while finishing in the top three of Defensive Player of the Year voting three times.
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There have been some injury concerns surrounding Parsons, who has been dealing with a back issue that may require an injection in order for him to play in Week 1, but the Packers were obviously willing to take the risk.
Green Bay will open its season against the Detroit Lions this Sunday.
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