The Cowboys closed the book on the Micah Parsons trade during draft weekend. The team used the extra picks to make even more trades.
In the end. . .
The Cowboys sent the All-Pro edge rusher to the Packers. They traded defensive tackle Mazi Smith and a 2026 second-round pick to the Jets (later traded to the Lions) and the better of their two 2027 first-round picks to the Jets.
The Cowboys acquired defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, defensive lineman Kenny Clark, outside linebacker Malachi Lawrence (23rd overall), cornerback Devin Moore (114th overall) and defensive lineman LT Overton (137th overall).
The team has walked away from Parsons feeling as if they have won the trade.
“We feel really good about it,” executive vice president Stephen Jones told Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “Obviously, much respect for Micah and what he stands for and how he plays and the caliber of player he is. At the same time, we feel good about what we’ve added via that trade. You look at a guy like Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark. They’re alpha players, who are not only great players on the field, but they’re leaders in the meeting rooms, how about they go about their business in the offseason. Just bring great leadership to this team.
“I just feel very optimistic that we have the right pieces in place. Ultimately, the decision we made was that one player is not worth four or five good ones, and we feel like that’s where we’re going to end up here in a good spot. We had that opportunity there. Didn’t feel like we were one player away last year, but I certainly feel like we’re putting the pieces together to give us an opportunity to go do what our fans deserve, what we want, which is to go and try to win the big trophy.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones predicted after the trade that Dallas would turn the trade into “three, four, five, six players for one.”
It’s unlikely that any one of the players the Cowboys acquired is as good as Parsons, but Williams is only 28 and has four Pro Bowls and is a one-time All-Pro. Clark is a three-time Pro Bowler.
The Cowboys, who are switching to a 3-4 defense under new coordinator Christian Parker, will have only three of the same starters from Week 1 of last season in what turned out to be a historically bad defense. If the Cowboys can have even a mediocre defense in 2026, they could contend, even without an All-Pro edge rusher.
Packers Clips
The Packers lost a pair of key players to injury last season, both of whom may have helped change the team’s ultimate outcome in 2025.
Tight end Tucker Kraft suffered a torn ACL in November, prematurely ending what was a breakout season. Then linebacker Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL in December, cutting off his strong first season with Green Bay.
But both should be back for the majority of 2026, according to General Manager Brian Gutekunst.
“They’re doing great,” Gutekunst said in a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Tuck’s been in here every day, and he’s obviously a little bit ahead of schedule, just because his injury happened earlier than Micah’s did. But Micah’s such a — he’s a little bit of a freak. So I think some of that has taken over, and he’s doing really well, as well.
“So, certainly expect both of those guys back early in the season. And they’ll be a big part of what we’re doing moving forward.”
In eight games last year, Kraft caught 32 passes for 489 yards with six touchdowns.
Parsons tallied 12.5 sacks with 12 tackles for loss and 27 quarterback hits, earning AP first-team All-Pro honors for the third time, despite playing just 14 games.
The Packers broke with tradition by selecting wide receiver Matthew Golden in the first round of the 2025 draft, but he entered a deep receiving corps that kept him from being a focal point of the team’s offensive attack.
Golden had 29 catches for 361 yards in the regular season, but provided a hint of what it might look like with him in that role by catching four passes for 84 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay’s playoff loss to the Bears. The stage is set for him to get more chances for those kinds of games in 2026.
Romeo Doubs left for the Patriots as a free agent and Dontayvion Wicks was traded to the Eagles, which opened up a lot of snaps for the coming season. In a Monday press conference, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich was asked what that will mean for Golden’s opportunity and production.
“I think all those are going to go up,” Stenavich said. “I’m excited about him, he’s looked great so far. It’s going to be a big year for him and I’m excited to watch it.”
Christian Watson and Jayden Reed are also set for prominent roles at receiver this year and the Packers will be hoping for a full return from injury for tight end Tucker Kraft, but Golden became their first first-round wideout since 2002 and the team will be looking for that bet to start really paying off this season.
The Packers’ move to sign Tyrod Taylor is going to cost another of the team’s quarterbacks his spot on the 90-man roster in Green Bay.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the team will be releasing Desmond Ridder. Ridder joined the team last December and did not play in any games.
Ridder’s departure will leave four quarterbacks on the roster. In addition to Taylor, they will have Jordan Love, Kyle McCord and rookie Kyron Drones.
Ridder spent time with the Bengals and Vikings last year before finishing out the year with the Packers. His last regular season action came in six appearances for the Raiders in 2024 and the 2022 third-round pick made 17 starts for the Falcons in his first two NFL seasons.
Ridder is 322-of-503 for 3,544 yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over all of his NFL action.
With Malik Willis off to the Dolphins, the Packers have brought in a new veteran backup quarterback.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Green Bay is signing quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
Taylor, 36, spent the last two seasons with the Jets. He appeared in six games with four starts in 2025, completing 59.7 percent of his passes for 779 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 143 yards with one TD.
Green Bay’s backup position has been important over the last two years, with starter Jordan Love missing a pair of starts in each 2024 and 2025. Taylor fits the bill of an experienced backup, having appeared in 100 games with 62 starts since entering the league as a sixth-round picking 2011.
Taylor’s signing presumably puts five quarterbacks on Green Bay’s roster, pending any other moves. Aside from Love and Taylor, the club has Desmond Ridder, Kyle McCord, and Kyron Drones.
The Packers kicked off their rookie minicamp by signing most of their draft picks.
They announced that they have signed five of their six selections. Third-round defensive tackle Chris McClellan, fourth-round edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton, fifth-round offensive lineman Jager Burton, sixth-round cornerback Domani Jackson, and sixth-round kicker Trey Smack. All five players agreed to four-year deals with the team.
Second-round cornerback Brandon Cisse is the only unsigned member of the Green Bay draft class.
The Packers also signed 10 undrafted free agents. They are Iowa State guard Dylan Barrett, Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones, Illinois guard Josh Gesky, UCF edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly, Nevada safety Murvin Kenion, SMU tight end RJ Maryland, UCF running back Jaden Nixon, Louisville linebacker TJ Quinn, Florida wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant, and Auburn guard Dillon Wade.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool is trying to get back into the NFL.
The Packers’ roster for this weekend’s rookie minicamp shows that Claypool is taking part in the session as a tryout player.
Claypool landed on injured reserve with the Bills during training camp in 2024 and did not play at all last year. His last game action came in nine games with the Dolphins in 2023.
Claypool was a 2020 Steelers second-round pick and had 121 catches for 1,733 yards and 11 touchdowns his first two seasons. He was traded to the Bears for a second-round pick in 2022 and failed to produce at the same level before falling out of favor entirely ahead of a trade to Miami the next season.
Eight other tryout players are taking part in the Packers camp, including rookie running back Isaiah Jacobs. He is the younger brother of Packers running back Josh Jacobs.
The Packers are electing to put one of their defensive players under contract for 2027.
Per Matt Schneidman of TheAthletic.com, Green Bay has exercised edge rusher Lukas Van Ness’ fifth-year option.
That puts Van Ness in line to make a projected $13.8 million guaranteed in 2027.
The No. 13 overall pick of the 2023 draft, Van Ness has appeared in 43 games with two starts in his career. He played nine games with two starts in 2025, missing much of the season due to a foot injury.
Van Ness finished 2025 with 1.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and seven quarterback hits.
In all, Van Ness has recorded 8.5 sacks, 17 TFLs, and seven QB hits through his first three seasons.
The Cowboys added a receiver late in the draft over the weekend and now have added a veteran to the mix.
Dallas has signed receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, according to the transaction wire.
Valdes-Scantling, 31, split last season between the 49ers and Steelers. He appeared in five games each for San Francisco and Pittsburgh, catching four passes for 40 yards for the 49ers and 10 catches for 80 yards with a TD for the Steelers.
A fifth-round pick in 2018, Valdes-Scantling has caught 219 passes for 3,686 yards with 21 touchdowns in his career.
The Packers signed wide receiver Jayden Reed to a contract extension during the draft and the team may not be done giving new contracts to current members of the receiving corps.
Christian Watson signed a one-year extension with the team ahead of the 2025 season and General Manager Brian Gutekunst waved away any thoughts that the Reed deal was a sign that the team was planning to part ways with Watson.
“Absolutely with Christian,” Gutekunst said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “Amongst a bunch of other guys that we’re going to hope over the next few months to try to maybe do some of that with.”
The Packers traded Dontayvion Wicks to the Eagles and saw Romeo Doubs leave for the Patriots as a free agent, which thinned out a receiver group that may have had too many mouths to feed in 2025. They did not draft anyone, which leaves Reed, Watson, and 2025 first-rounder Matthew Golden as the clear top three heading into the 2026 season.
Should things come together on the contract front, that trio will be set for a multi-year run in those roles.
