Rex Ryan blasts Jerry Jones for Micah Parsons deal: 'It's the worst trade in NFL history'

On Aug. 28, the Cowboys traded star EDGE Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, in exchange for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round draft picks (2026 and 2027). When asked about the trade on Sunday NFL Countdown, former NFL head coach Rex Ryan didn’t mince words.

“It’s the worst trade in NFL history, and I’m going to tell you why,” Ryan said. “Look, when you have a great player, you can build your entire defense around a great player, alright? Good players, that’s fine. Like, Jerry [Jones] talks about, ‘Oh, I can get some good players.’ Yeah, they ain’t the difference.

“They’re part of the your reasons you’re winning. But, trust me, you win because of players like this. And draft picks? Their lottery picks. You don’t know if you’re going to hit. Well, guess what? You hit on this one. And the odds of it are winning the dang lottery to get a player like this. Jerry made it personal.”

Players like Micah Parsons don’t grow on trees. He is only the second player in NFL history to record 12 sacks in each of his four seasons in the league. Parsons is a four-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro and was the 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Parsons said he wanted to stay in Dallas and even grew up as a Cowboys fans, but ultimately couldn’t stay with the organization when its front office refused to negotiate a new contract with him. In contrast, Parsons agreed to a four-year, $188 million contract with the Packers. The contract includes $120 million fully guaranteed at signing and $136 million in total guarantees.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Parsons verbally agreed to a deal in March that would’ve earned Parsons $40.5 million a year. However, the deal fell through after Parsons attempted to involve his agent.

Jones doesn’t seem to regret his decision. During an appearance on Good Morning America, Jones argued the Cowboys got the better end of the trade with the Packers.

“We have two kinds of capital or currency in the NFL,” Jones said. “One of them is draft picks. The other is the financial because every team is limited to the same amount of resources to spend, and having said that, Micah enabled us to have four, possibly as many as six players, for the future. That’s a good trade when you need numbers. I’ll take the numbers every time.”

The Cowboys fell 24-20 against the Philadelphia Eagles in their season-opener on Thursday. On Sunday, Micah Parsons will make his debut for the Packers as they square off against the Detroit Lions at 4:25 p.m. ET. The game will air live on CBS.