Earlier in the NFL 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 (two future first-round picks, DT Kenny Clark) was not enough. But now that the team has shown noticeable improvement without Parsons compared to last season, some are lauding Jones for the move.
Advertisement
One of those people is former QB Derek Carr. He is well aware of the criticism Jones regularly receives. But on this particular occasion, while reviewing the Cowboys’ season, Carr felt that Jerry deserved some credit.
“Jerry, we were not aware of your game. My goodness,” Carr expressed on the Home Grown podcast. “Everyone says Jerry’s crazy. Maybe we’re crazy.”
The defensive tackle that Dallas received, Clark, actually had a solid season on a much cheaper contract than Parsons. The Packers, meanwhile, immediately 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.
The former QB went on to list other strengths the Cowboys showed throughout the year under Jones. Most notably, he 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 if they want to keep him.
At the end of the day, though, it’s hard to give Jones too much praise for the Parsons trade. The defense was historically bad, and the team still finished with a losing record and missed the playoffs. It was likely smart to move on from an expensive contract and allocate the money elsewhere.
This upcoming offseason is where Jones really needs to prove himself as a GM. There is a laundry list of things to check off, not to mention putting the picks he acquired in the trade to good use. If he can successfully do both, maybe next year the Cowboys can bounce back to a winning record.
