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Emergency episode: GO PACK GO!!!!!!!!! · Football Junkies podcast

0:00
Breaking news, breaking news, breaking news,
0:02
folks. Micah Parsons heads to the Packers. Yes,
0:04
this is real. Yes, this is happening. The moment
0:07
that we've all been waiting for, the resolution
0:10
that we've all been waiting for is finally here.
0:14
No intro, no outro, none of that. Just straight
0:17
off the dome when it comes to this. All right,
0:20
so the Cowboys receive a first -round pick for
0:23
next year as well as a first -round pick in 2027.
0:25
And Kenny Clark, while the Packers receive Micah
0:28
Parsons. Now, with this move, the Packers take
0:31
on $18 million in dead cap this year and then
0:34
$17 million next year. All right, so with this
0:37
move, Michael Parsons also agrees to a four -year
0:41
$188 million deal, $120 million guaranteed at
0:45
signing, $136 million in total guarantees, and
0:48
he'll be making $47 million a year. So he is
0:51
now the highest paid pass rusher in NFL history.
0:55
Now, when we look at his stats from this past
0:57
season, 43 tackles, 12 sacks, 75 quarterback
1:01
pressures. Now here's a few junkie nuggets with
1:03
this, all right? So according to NFL Pro, since
1:06
2021, Micah Parsons is the pressure leader at
1:10
335 pressures. During the 2024 season, Micah
1:16
Parsons tied with Daniil Hunter with a pressure
1:18
rate of 19 .1%. Despite missing four games, Micah
1:25
Parsons led the Cowboys with a 24 .2 pressure
1:29
share, which was the eighth highest in the league.
1:33
Now, according to Adam Schefter, Parsons is one
1:36
of two players to have at least 12 sacks in each
1:39
of their first four seasons. Do you know who
1:42
the other person was? Reggie White. My takeaway
1:45
from this move is the Cowboys realized that they
1:48
were at the point of no return with Micah Parsons.
1:50
Jerry was reluctant. and communicating with the
1:54
agent. He didn't want to do any business with
1:57
the agent. And so Michael Parsons dug his heels
2:00
in the sand and said, listen, we're not talking
2:02
about business unless my agent is present. And
2:05
Jerry said, you know what? You need to honor
2:07
your whatever deal, quote unquote, that they
2:09
had in place in March. You need to honor it.
2:12
And that's not how you do business. And so rather
2:15
for both sides to be miserable with each other
2:18
for this upcoming season, just move off of him.
2:21
You get great compensation in return. You get
2:23
a really productive run stuffer in Kenny Clark.
2:26
I mean, who wouldn't want Kenny Clark on their
2:28
team? Not to mention, when you look at the financials
2:32
for Kenny Clark's contract, it's actually really
2:35
good. So according to Todd Archer, the Packers
2:38
paid Kenny Clark a $7 .5 million roster bonus
2:42
and is only due $1 .3 million in base salary
2:45
and $1 million in bonuses in 2025. Now in 2026,
2:50
Kenny Clark is due $11 million in a roster bonus
2:53
with a base salary of $8 .8 million and a $1
2:56
million active roster bonus. And in 2027, Kenny
2:59
Clark will have a base salary of $18 .3 million
3:02
and a $1 million active roster bonus. That's
3:06
not bad at all. That's actually very manageable.
3:09
And then when you even look at the defensive
3:11
line for the Cowboys, he is now their best interior
3:14
defensive lineman. Mozzie Smith hasn't shown
3:17
anything. And there's nobody else on that defensive
3:20
line that you can vividly say, listen, they're
3:24
going to be a problem. They are a game wrecker.
3:27
They can do what Michael Parsons was able to
3:30
do. No. And so if you're the Cowboys, this is
3:34
great for you because you needed those picks
3:36
because you have a lot of holes on your team.
3:39
The offensive line still needs to be built. The
3:42
defense still needs to be built. It's time for
3:44
you to bring in cheaper talent. Because you're
3:47
giving Dak Prescott almost $60 million. You're
3:50
giving a lot of money to CeeDee Lamb. You're
3:52
about to give a whole lot of money to one of
3:54
your interior offensive linemen. So it was only
3:57
right that you move off of Micah Parsons because
3:59
guess what? That saves you a lot of cap space.
4:02
And now whatever money that you're going to give
4:03
Micah Parsons, you can give it to one of your
4:06
interior defensive linemen. You can give it to
4:08
Deron Blaine. You can go and get somebody because
4:11
Jerry Jones said that maybe he'll use those two
4:14
first round picks to get somebody else. Which
4:16
I think that's probably a dumb idea, but this
4:19
was a good move for both sides. And I think if
4:23
you're Cowboys fans, this signals that, listen,
4:25
most likely this team is going to go through
4:27
a rebuild. I think it's time for the Cowboys
4:31
to go through a rebuild. Because right now, this
4:34
team isn't going anywhere. This team is not competitive.
4:37
And at best, it just needs to get cheap. Sometimes
4:41
being cheap and young is a little bit better
4:43
than being super expensive and underperforming.
4:47
Granted, I understand that they gave Dak Prescott
4:50
$60 million. I understand that they have CeeDee
4:52
Lamb. But outside of those two, what else do
4:56
you have on this team? What else do you have
4:58
on the defense? Nothing. By getting someone in
5:02
Kenny Clark, you have now helped out one of the
5:05
spots that has been plaguing the Cowboys for
5:09
the last few years. According to NFL Pro, because
5:12
I was able to do the research, in 2022, the Cowboys
5:16
were 22nd in run defense, and they allowed 129
5:20
.3 rushing yards per game, 9 rushing touchdowns,
5:24
4 .4 rushing yards per play, and 67 rushes of
5:27
10 plus yards or more. In 2023, they were 16th
5:31
in run defense, and they allowed 112 .4 rushing
5:35
yards per game, 14 rushing touchdowns, 4 .6 rushing
5:39
yards per play, and 48 rushes of 10 plus yards
5:42
or more. In 2024, they were 29th in run defense,
5:47
and they allowed 137 .1 rushing yards per game,
5:51
25 rushing touchdowns, 4 .8 rushing yards per
5:54
play, and 63 rushes of 10 plus yards or more.
5:58
As the years progressed, their run defense got
6:02
worse instead of better. That's not good. And
6:06
so by getting someone like a Kenny Clark, That's
6:09
going to make things a whole lot better. Now,
6:11
am I saying that the run defense is going to
6:14
be top five or top three just because they have
6:16
Kenny Clark? No. But by having someone in Kenny
6:20
Clark, that is the first step in the right direction.
6:24
Now, the question is this. How is the locker
6:28
room going to feel moving forward? Because Micah
6:32
Parsons plays such a pivotal role on this team,
6:35
not just on the defense, but in leadership. And
6:38
I think both sides realize that, listen, this
6:41
has started to get really personal. Anytime you
6:45
have an owner, I don't care who it is, start
6:49
questioning your leadership, start questioning
6:51
your work ethic, all of those things that you
6:54
stand on, it's just time to go. Not to mention,
6:57
Jerry Jones took a picture with Micah Parsons'
7:00
mom. I mean, let's be real here. If Jerry Jones
7:02
is taking a picture with your mom while you're
7:04
in the middle of a contract negotiation with
7:06
the team, It's just time to go, okay? It's just
7:10
time to go. Now, when we look at Kenny Clark's
7:13
stats from, I would say, since 2021, he had four
7:17
sacks in 2021, four sacks in 2022, seven and
7:21
a half sacks in 2023, and then one sack this
7:24
past season. So he had a little bit of a rocky
7:28
season lately, but we all know he's going to
7:31
rebound from it. So it's perfectly fine. But
7:33
we need to talk about how do we get to this point?
7:37
On July 21st, Michael Parsons reported to camp.
7:41
On August 1st, he requested a trade on X. On
7:45
August 2nd, Jerry Jones says he's not going to
7:48
trade Michael Parsons, calling the trade request,
7:51
and I quote, just a part of negotiation. And
7:54
one thing I would say to our fans, don't lose
7:57
any sleep over it, end quote. On August 7th,
8:01
Michael Parsons said he has back tightness and
8:03
wasn't on the practice field for the first time
8:05
during training camp. On August 13th, when asked
8:09
on what's preventing the Cowboys and Micah Parsons
8:12
coming to a deal, Jerry Jones says, and I quote,
8:15
nothing, end quote. On August 21st, Jerry Jones
8:19
says that he offered Micah Parsons the richest
8:22
non -quarterback contract in NFL history. In
8:25
August 22nd, Brian Schoenheimer expects Micah
8:30
Parsons to play week one. And then on August
8:32
28th, Micah Parsons is traded. to the Packers
8:36
and agrees to a four -year $188 million deal.
8:40
Now this is what Micah Parsons had to say to
8:43
Cowboys Nation, and I quote, Cowboys Nation,
8:46
growing up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, I was
8:49
one of the few kids in my neighborhood who cheered
8:51
for the Dallas Cowboys. Nearly everyone around
8:54
me supported the Eagles, but I always believed
8:57
in the star. To wear the blue and white at Penn
8:59
State and then carry those same colors into the
9:01
NFL as a cowboy, it was more than a dream, it
9:05
was destiny. From the moment I arrived in Dallas,
9:08
you embraced me and my family as your own. You
9:10
made a kid from the East Coast feel right at
9:12
home in Texas. Every time I pulled up to work,
9:15
every time I stepped onto the field, I felt that
9:18
weight and pride of representing you. You didn't
9:20
just give me a jersey, you gave me a place to
9:23
belong. I never wanted this chapter to end, but
9:26
not everything was in my control. My heart has
9:28
always been here, and it still is. Through it
9:32
all, I never made any demands. I never asked
9:34
for anything more than fairness. I only asked
9:37
that the person I trust to negotiate my contract
9:39
be a part of the process. This is a sad day,
9:42
but not a bitter one. I'll never forget the joy
9:44
of draft night, the adrenaline of running out
9:47
of the tunnel, or the brotherhood I shared with
9:50
my teammates, coaches, and the staff who prepared
9:52
me for every single game. Those memories are
9:55
mine forever. North Texas will continue to be
9:58
my home in the offseason. I'll still be here
10:00
giving back to the community that gave me so
10:02
much. And no matter where the next chapter takes
10:05
me, the bond we've built will never break. Thank
10:08
you, Cowboy Station, for every cheer, every moment,
10:10
and every ounce of love you show me. Wearing
10:13
the star has been the honor of my life. With
10:15
gratitude and love, number 11. End quote. Michael
10:19
Parsons didn't want to leave the Cowboys. He
10:21
was forced to do the things that he had to do.
10:25
in order to be put in a better situation. Anytime
10:28
you have an owner, someone like a Jerry Jones,
10:31
who says, man, you don't need your agent. Just
10:34
come on, come on inside the deal, man. You know
10:38
that's a bad contract. You know that's a contract
10:41
that's not going to favor you, but instead going
10:44
to favor the team. So here we are. This move
10:48
has already been made, but in some ways we have
10:50
to talk about a similar trade to this. And that
10:54
is the Khalil Mack trade. So Khalil Mack was
10:57
traded on September 1st of 2018. And so Chicago
11:01
received, of course, Khalil Mack, a 2020 second
11:04
round pick, a 2020 conditional fifth round pick,
11:07
and then gave Khalil Mack a six -year $141 million
11:11
deal. While Oakland received two first round
11:15
picks for both 2019 and 2020, a 2020 third round
11:19
pick, and a 2019 sixth round pick. Now, when
11:22
we look at Micah Parsons' deal, Green Bay, of
11:25
course, receives Micah Parsons and gives him
11:27
a four -year $188 million deal, while Dallas
11:30
receives Kenny Clark and two first -round picks.
11:33
So in some ways, both teams in both situations
11:37
receive some form of compensation that's going
11:41
to help each other moving forward. But I will
11:44
say this, for the Cowboys, no matter what you
11:47
do with those picks, you will never be able to
11:51
get somebody like a Micah Parsons. And I think
11:54
that's the part that's really going to hurt the
11:57
Cowboys in the next few years. Because outside
12:00
of Micah Parsons, who else on that defense strikes
12:03
fear into offenses? It's not Deron Bland. It's
12:08
not Trevon Diggs. It's not Sam Williams. It's
12:11
none of those guys. It was only Micah Parsons.
12:15
And so right now, if you're Jerry, You have to
12:18
take this on the chin. You have to realize that
12:21
listen, I took things too far. I took things
12:25
to a place where it didn't need to be. But you
12:27
were so adamant of trying to be the businessman
12:30
and trying to spin the narrative and you go on
12:33
this media run and you're having interviews with
12:36
Stephen A and Fox News and you're here, you're
12:40
there, then you have the documentary and you're
12:43
just trying to change this narrative that you're
12:45
just this big old bad owner. And look, you got
12:49
egg on your face. Really think about that. But
12:53
let's talk about this press conference, okay?
12:56
So Jerry Jones justified this move by saying,
12:59
and I quote, it's in the best interest of the
13:02
team, not only for the present needs, but also
13:05
for the future, end quote. But he specifically
13:08
talked about the defensive weaknesses, all right?
13:12
Now, Jerry Jones also emphasized the need to
13:15
improve the run defense, saying, and I quote,
13:17
we need to stop the run. We haven't been able
13:20
to stop the run at key times for several years,
13:23
end quote, which is true. Which, I mean, we just
13:26
finished talking about those stats. Now, Jerry
13:28
Jones said this, and this is going to be the
13:31
part that is going to be replayed over and over
13:35
and over again. And I quote, we can win more
13:39
without Micah. than if we had signed him, end
13:43
quote. I would have never said anything like
13:46
that publicly because you know why? Because the
13:48
Packers faced the Cowboys this year on a Monday
13:51
night game to be specific. You know Micah Parsons
13:55
is going to enact his revenge. And you know every
13:58
single time he makes a play, guess what? He's
14:01
going to be looking right at you, Jerry. So I
14:03
don't even know why you would say something like
14:05
this, but hey, more power to you, okay? Jerry
14:09
continues to go on by saying that this trade
14:12
is similar to the Hershel Walker trade. Now,
14:15
for those of you who don't know, the Hershel
14:18
Walker trade was the trade that was able to create
14:22
the Cowboys dynasty in the 90s. The Cowboys received
14:26
Jesse Solomon, David Howard, Isaac Holt, Alex
14:30
Stewart, the Vikings' 1990 first, second, and
14:33
sixth round picks. the Vikings' 1991 first and
14:37
second round picks, which were conditional based
14:40
on cutting Jesse Solomon and David Howard, the
14:43
Vikings' 1992 first, second, and third round
14:46
picks based on the condition that they had to
14:49
cut Isaac Holt and Alex Stewart, while the Vikings
14:52
received Herschel Walker, the Cowboys' 1993rd
14:55
and 10th round picks, the Chargers' 1995th round
14:59
pick, and the Cowboys' 1991 third round pick.
15:03
While the Chargers received Darian Nelson. I
15:06
really don't see the connection, but I mean,
15:10
it's Jerry. What do you expect from all of this,
15:13
right? But really thinking about this, and I
15:17
don't want to be someone that, you know, plays
15:19
with the conspiracy theories and, you know, any
15:22
of those different narratives and whatnot. But
15:25
what if this year the Cowboys don't play well?
15:29
I mean, just... They're just trash and they get
15:34
a top five, maybe top 10 pick. Do you think they'll
15:38
probably have a fire sale? Do you think they
15:41
want to entertain the idea of maybe moving off
15:43
of Dak Prescott and possibly getting one of those
15:47
younger quarterbacks that's going to be cheap
15:49
for five years? If I'm Jerry, I low -key would
15:54
have a fire sale because guess what? You're not
15:57
going anywhere. I don't care what you do. You
16:01
cannot compare this roster to the Commanders
16:04
or the Eagles. And honestly speaking, you might
16:08
not be able to even compare it to the Giants.
16:11
Because the Giants roster really isn't that strong
16:14
either. Now granted, their crown jewel is the
16:17
defensive line, but outside of that, I mean,
16:19
sure you have Malik Nabors, you have Jalen Hyatt,
16:22
you know, you have a lot of pieces, but that
16:25
defensive line is where all the money is right
16:27
now. If you're the Cowboys, you need to go through
16:30
a legitimate rebuild. You need to just destroy
16:34
this thing to the nuts and bolts and build it
16:37
right back up. We all know that Jerry Jones will
16:40
build one of the best offensive lines within
16:42
the next five to 10 years. We know most likely
16:45
he's going to bring in weapons. We all know that
16:47
Jerry is going to be on top. Now, I understand
16:50
that he probably doesn't want to do that because
16:51
he wants to experience at least winning one more
16:54
championship because he's getting up in age.
16:56
But at the same time, listen, you put yourself
16:59
in a situation by not conducting good business
17:02
with your players. I would have thought by now,
17:05
with the season coming up within the next 10
17:10
to 11 days, you would have thought, oh, okay,
17:14
they're going to revamp talks. They're going
17:16
to find a way to get things done. They're going
17:18
to be super aggressive. And the next thing you
17:20
know, they're going to announce that they have
17:21
a deal. No. Instead, they just traded him away
17:25
like it was nothing. And I had a weird feeling
17:27
about it when Adam Schefter tweeted out that
17:30
the Cowboys were listening to certain offers.
17:34
Now, Jerry Jones said this in his press conference,
17:37
that the two things that they were looking for
17:40
when making the trade was that they wanted to
17:43
go after a team. They had enough cap space to
17:46
absorb Micah Parsons, while at the same time,
17:49
they wanted a really productive interior defensive
17:53
lineman, which makes a lot of sense. Case in
17:56
point, they went after with the Packers. And
17:59
so if you're the Packers, this was a great move
18:03
because why? You have now solidified yourself
18:06
as a true Super Bowl contender, not only in the
18:10
NFC, but in the NFL. Because right now, by making
18:14
this move, you have put everybody in the NFC
18:17
on notice that, listen, we're going for the title
18:20
this year. I don't care what you have in your
18:23
offense or your defense. We're here to wreck
18:26
shop. And if you're the Eagles, what do you do
18:29
at this point? Because now you have a team that
18:32
has Michael Parsons and Rashawn Gary and Xavier
18:36
McKinney. Edrin Cooper, Christian Watson, Matthew
18:39
Golden, Savion Williams, Josh Jacobs. The list
18:43
goes on and on. I'm very excited to see what's
18:46
about to happen with this team. I'm very excited
18:48
to see what's going to happen with this season
18:50
because I know this is going to go down in history
18:53
as one of the greater seasons in NFL history.
18:57
But we'll definitely talk about this moving forward.
18:59
All right. I just want to put out something fairly
19:01
quickly, not do this long and drawn out episode,
19:05
just a really quick emergency episode for this
19:07
move. All right. So as always, I hope I gave
19:11
you guys the fix that you guys need. I love you
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guys. I appreciate you guys so much for my podcasting
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listeners. We are available on Apple Podcasts,
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Football junkies pod. Follow me on X, GM Kale,
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all right? GM. K -A -I -L -E. It's the same thing
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with blue sky as well. G -M -K -A -I -L -E. As
20:14
always, I hope I gave you guys the fix that you
20:16
guys need. I love you guys. I appreciate you
20:18
guys so much. Stay tuned. We will be talking
20:21
about this within the next few episodes because
20:23
there's still a few different angles that I definitely
20:26
want to discuss with this. But as always, this
20:29
is your GM Kale signing out. Peace and love.
20:31
Later.