Packers’ Micah Parsons Gets More Incoming Flak From Cowboys
The price the Packers paid for star pass-rusher Micah Parsons was, no doubt, high. The team sent out two first-round picks plus Kenny Clark to get their hands on the ex-Cowboys star, and with 12.5 sacks for the 8-3-1 Packers, folks in Green Bay regret nothing about the swap.
In Dallas, though, as the Cowboys have been surging with three straight wins–including beating the Eagles and Chiefs–the spin on Parsons continues. Team owner Jerry Jones, who mishandled the negotiations on a new contract for Parsons before ultimately trading him to Green Bay, said on Friday that he nearly sent Parsons to the Jets before the season and that, really, he didn’t think his star pass-rusher was all that good.
According to Jones, the Cowboys had talked about sending Parsons to the Jets for Quinnen Williams, who was dealt to Dallas at this year’s trade deadline. The offer–and this is something the Jets will surely refute–was Parsons and a first-round pick for Williams.
Micah Parsons Came Up Short With Cowboys
Jones said something that the Packers will surely test in the immediate and in the long-term in Green Bay: That Parsons did not have a big enough impact on winning and losing.
“Micah is very impactful, but we really hadn’t won with Micah,” Jones said Friday. “Not because of Micah. We just hadn’t won because (the opponent) was able to work around us having Micah. They ran right at him or they basically threw the ball quicker. Those are simplistic things.
Indeed, Parsons is one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL, only rating below Browns star Myles Garrett (who is on another planet) in the Pro Football Focus grading system, where Parsons rates a 93.2 and Garrett rates a 93.5. But Parsons is a mediocre run-stopper, ranked No. 38 among pass-rushers with a 66.3 rating.
The Packers as a whole have only a mediocre run defense, ranked No. 16 in the NFL.
Packers Seeing Parsons Get Double-Teamed
Parsons has had an issue with being double-teamed this season, and for the Packers, the key is to take advantage of that. Green Bay has an advantage Dallas did not have–the overall defensive talent is better. And Parsons has been effective in taking advantage when he is single-teamed by offensive linemen.
“It should be a loss for them,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “I think if you ask Micah, if they block him one-on-one, his answer is going to be that I should win. And our expectation is, if they block him one-on-one, he’s going to win, too.
“Now he’s not going to win all of them. Let’s understand that. You’re not going to win everyone. But there were a few he won so fast where, I don’t care who was playing quarterback for them, the guy had no chance. So, I hope teams continue to try to block him one-on-one. But there were sometimes in that [Minnesota] game, where there were three guys on him.”
Steelers Called Upon to Extend ‘Impactful’ New Addition
The Pittsburgh Steelers were pushed to extend new safety Kyle Dugger before he hits free agency.
One of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ recent midseason acquisitions is making a name for himself already, as NFL writer Kristopher Knox urged head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan to lock up safety Kyle Dugger long-term.
“The Steelers can and should offer a long-term deal to 29-year-old safety Kyle Dugger,” Knox wrote with Bleacher Report.
Reasoning: “Pittsburgh acquired Dugger from New England in exchange for a late-round pick swap, and it has already seen impactful results. Dugger has started all four games in which he’s appeared and has recorded 18 tackles, three passes defended and a pick-six while allowing an opposing passer rating of only 53.1 in coverage.”
Dugger wouldn’t necessarily break the bank, so this could be a low-cost move that helps shore up the back end over the next few seasons.
Kyle Dugger Immediately Unseated Multiple Steelers Safeties After Coming Over via Trade
Dugger was one of the Steelers’ trade acquisitions before the 2025 deadline, and he ended up coming to Pittsburgh and stealing a starting role.
DeShon Elliott suffered a long-term injury around the same time of the trade, and star cornerback Jalen Ramsey was also moved to free safety. Once seeing Dugger fit into the scheme, the Steelers promptly released Juan Thornhill and benched Chuck Clark, switching things up in a big way.
And that was all because of the emergence of Dugger.
A former second-round selection of Bill Belichick’s in 2020, Dugger started 70 total games for the New England Patriots over a five-year period.
Then, unfortunately for the veteran safety, new head coach Mike Vrabel came in and went a different direction at the position. After falling out of favor in New England, the Steelers quickly pounced, giving up the bare minimum to acquire Dugger.
So far, that’s proven to be a wise move by Khan and Tomlin.
Should the Steelers Push to Re-Sign Aaron Rodgers?
Before talking about Dugger, Knox made it clear that he feels Pittsburgh should also consider attempting to re-sign Aaron Rodgers.
“Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will probably be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most important free agent next offseason,” the analyst noted. Adding: “However, there’s no guarantee that the soon-to-be 42-year-old wants to play beyond this season, so any thoughts of an early extension are probably moot.”
It’s true. If the Steelers want to bring back Rodgers, they’ll probably have to play his waiting game once again.
That means potentially having no starting quarterback on the roster throughout the bulk of NFL free agency and the draft. It’d be another risky QB move, and a lot for Rodgers to ask out of the organization after forcing them to wait in 2025.
On the bright side, the Steelers do have both Mason Rudolph and Will Howard under contract in 2026 — let’s say they want to roll the dice on Rodgers playing again.
If he made a decision before the draft, that’d also be helpful, considering Pittsburgh has several picks to work with next April.
Unfortunately, there’s no telling what Rodgers will do until he makes that decision himself. And he probably won’t reveal it until late spring or early summer, judging by his recent track record.
In this sort of scenario, the Steelers would be better off telling Rodgers that he must operate on a quicker timeline this offseason, or they’ll explore new QB options. This is an important spring for Pittsburgh, and Khan and Tomlin have to know where they stand at quarterback early on.
