The enduring narratives are so ingrained, they\u2019re almost boring.<\/p>\n
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, recently rechristened \u201cThe Gambler,\u201d is an 82-year-old man who, we\u2019re assured, is desperate to win another Super Bowl. He\u2019s not shy about engaging in high-profile contract standoffs but has a knack for theatrical deal-striking in the nick of time.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 Powers That Be, for as long as we can remember, have quietly implemented a draft-and-develop strategy while shying away from splashy acquisitions.<\/p>\n
Those are the stereotypes attached to the people in charge of these franchises with massive, multinational fan bases \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n
Thursday, one of the biggest blockbuster trades in NFL history smashed all of that to pieces, like a cheesehead crushing a cowboy figurine.<\/p>\n
A week before America\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a reasonably impressive haul for the Cowboys, but it hardly screams \u201call in\u201d for 2025. With an untested rookie coach in Brian Schottenheimer and a big \u201cL\u201d in a messy standoff with a star player and his powerful agent, Jones can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 while declining, for the most part, to take big swings \u2014 a sense of urgency has finally arrived in Titletown.<\/p>\n