The enduring narratives are so ingrained, they’re almost boring.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, recently rechristened “The Gambler,” is an 82-year-old man who, we’re assured, is desperate to win another Super Bowl. He’s not shy about engaging in high-profile contract standoffs but has a knack for theatrical deal-striking in the nick of time.
Conversely, the Green Bay Packers, a franchise without an actual owner, exist on the other end of the NFL continuum. Risk averse and partial to playing the long game, the Packers’ Powers That Be, for as long as we can remember, have quietly implemented a draft-and-develop strategy while shying away from splashy acquisitions.
Those are the stereotypes attached to the people in charge of these franchises with massive, multinational fan bases — until now.
Thursday, one of the biggest blockbuster trades in NFL history smashed all of that to pieces, like a cheesehead crushing a cowboy figurine.
A week before America’s Team will open the regular season in Philadelphia against the defending Super Bowl champions, Jones traded star pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Packers for two first-round draft picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
It’s a reasonably impressive haul for the Cowboys, but it hardly screams “all in” for 2025. With an untested rookie coach in Brian Schottenheimer and a big “L” in a messy standoff with a star player and his powerful agent, Jones can’t even pretend to flex. He might be a master at generating hype, but this is reality: His franchise appears even further from ending a three-decade run without a conference title game appearance than it did a day ago.
As for the Packers? Well, welcome to the 21st century. For all the frustrations endured by players, coaches and fans during a 30-year stretch in which the front office coasted off the excellence of first-ballot Hall of Fame-caliber quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers — while declining, for the most part, to take big swings — a sense of urgency has finally arrived in Titletown.
GO FURTHER
Jerry Jones’ stubborn missteps led the Cowboys into this Micah Parsons trainwreck