Earlier in the season, the majority of fans slammed Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys for trading away Micah Parsons. Jones was criticized for his old-school negotiating style, and some felt the return from the trade (two future first-round picks and DT Kenny Clark) was not enough. Well, that perception has changed, and how.
Advertisement
The Cowboys, who are 7-8-1 with Week 18’s matchup against the Giants left, have shown a slight improvement without Parsons compared to last season (7-10). And some are now lauding Jones for the Parsons move, citing future implications.
One of those showering love on Jones is former QB Derek Carr, who is well aware of the criticism Jones regularly receives. However, while reviewing the Cowboys’ season, Carr felt that Jerry deserved some credit.
“Jerry, we were not aware of your game. My goodness,” Carr said on the Home Grown podcast. “Everyone says Jerry’s crazy. Maybe we’re crazy.”
The defensive tackle that Dallas received, Clark, has had a solid season on a much cheaper contract than Parsons. The Packers had handed Parsons a four-year, $186 million contract. If Jones and the Cowboys had to pay that, their hands would have been tied moving forward.
“[Jones] said, ‘We have Micah [Parsons]. We’re not in a position right now, around Micah, to be what we need to be. I’ve got to get rid of him and get more, so we can be better collectively,’” Carr added, who then listed other positives the Cowboys showed throughout the year under Jones.
Most notably, Carr pointed to George Pickens, whom the team traded for back in May, stating that the Cowboys now have a new WR1. But with Pickens entering the final year of his deal, the team will need to sign him to a new contract.
However, to be fair, it’s hard to give Jones too much praise for the Parsons trade. The defense had been historically bad, and the team still finished with a losing record and missed the playoffs this season.
It was possibly smart to move on from an expensive contract and allocate the money elsewhere. And Jones can prove that move’s worth this upcoming offseason.
There is a laundry list of things to check off, not to mention putting the picks he acquired in the Parsons trade to good use. If he can successfully do both, maybe next year the Cowboys can bounce back to a winning record.
