After months of stalled negotiations, non-existent talks, and thinly veiled insults, Jerry Jones made the call to trade Micah Parsons to a conference rival just days before his team’s opening contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. For the Green Bay Packers, everything is going according to plan, but for everyone else, including Jon Gruden, the last-second transaction has derailed their plans.
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The Super Bowl-winning head coach was putting the finishing touches on his Week 1 preview when he was notified of the trade. “Aw man, we’re going to have to re-shoot the whole game. The whole dynamic of the game has changed… That’s football,” Gruden exclaimed.
The former HC of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was imploring fans to “keep an eye on Cowboys’ Micah Parsons,” and they certainly did. They kept an eye on him all the way to the airport.
Unfortunately, for the Packers, things may not be going as planned either. The star pass rusher had been contending with back issues for quite some time, which was no secret, but apparently, the severity of it was.
Green Bay cleared Parsons through his physical exam, but was unaware of the fact that his L4/L5 facet joint sprain required physical therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs, and even the use of epidurals. Now, they aren’t even sure if he’ll be available for their Week 1 contest against the Detroit Lions.
Packers LB Micah Parsons has been dealing with an L4/L5 facet joint sprain in his back and he may take an epidural injection prior to Sunday’s game vs. the Lions if needed to help him play, per sources.
Before trading Parsons last week, the Cowboys prescribed him a five-day plan… pic.twitter.com/8zXkNK45Ip
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2025
As the saying goes, however, the more things change, the more they stay the same, and that’s the case for Gruden’s official prediction. “I’m going with the Philadelphia Eagles.”
“They’ve got four options with four big time players… 31 to 20, Philly’s just got too many players. I’m going to Geno’s right now to get me a cheese steak.”
Both the public and the bigwigs over in Las Vegas seem to be siding with Gruden as well. The Eagles opened as 7-point favorites on the look ahead to Thursday’s game, and the consensus now sees them as 8.5-point favorites.
65% of all spread bets have been laid on Philadelphia, and a whopping 93% of the handle is residing with their money line. Parsons’ departure also seems to have emboldened the total as well, as the number shifted from 46.5 to 47.5 within hours of the trade being announced.
Philadelphia was listed as a -298 favorite back in May, but those odds now sit at a staggering -410, and the comeback on Dallas currently resides at +260. Suffice to say, everyone and their mother, as well as Gruden, is envisioning a lopsided result to start the season.
Although it is worth mentioning that the last time a defending champion lost at home in the season opener, it was the New York Giants hosting the Dallas Cowboys, so perhaps it’s worth exercising some caution ahead of this NFC East match-up.
