Star edge defender agreed to the deal before Green Bay pulled the trigger a year ago, and it was a wild outcome for everyone involved.
The Green Bay Packers don't have a first-round pick entering the draft for the first time in four decades, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Last August, the team sent two first-rounders and defensive tackle Kenny Clark to acquire star edge rusher Micah Parsons
, and that's enough to be happy about the draft capital usage.
During the draft live coverage with Bleacher Report
, Parsons had a blunt assessment of what the Packers did, and it's hard to disagree with him.
"I just think that the Packers won the draft already," Parsons stressed. "I think with the Packers' first-round pick, they aced the draft already. They aced it."
Micah Parsons had long but unfruitful negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys for a long-term contract extension, which ultimately prompted the trade to Green Bay. Parsons admitted that the idea of changing teams grew on him throughout the process.
"No, then yes," Parsons said when asked if he expected to be traded. "I went from 'nah, they wouldn't do it' to 'if you're not going to pay me, you might as well trade me.'"
The star player accepted the trade and signed a four-year, $186 million contract with the Packers. And now he revealed how the deal went down. Green Bay had the parameters with Dallas, but wouldn't pull off the deal without Parsons' approval.
"What people don't realize is when you're on the last year of your contract, like I was, the Packers wouldn't do the trade unless I agreed to it," Parsons explained. "You don't just get traded, you've got to agree to it. [. . .] You don't just trade a player and then have him be unhappy and leave after the year. So I kind of let up. Once they approved it, I was like, 'Oh shoot, it's happening.' Then I got a call like, 'they're willing to give you whatever you want, do you want to do it?' It was either that or play for the fifth-year option, so I said 'do the trade.'"
Even though Parsons' first season in Green Bay had a frustrating finish with his ACL injury , the Packers couldn't be happier with the trade so far. The production in Year 1 was amazing, but the front office has also praised his fit in the locker room.
In fact, the Packers won the first round of this year's draft - and it will impact the team for several years ahead.
