Why did the Dallas Cowboys put a poison pill into the Micah Parsons trade?
The Dallas Cowboys shipped Micah Parsons out of town, and now it has been revealed that the team put a special provision in the pass rusher’s trade to the Green Bay Packers to try to prevent Parsons from going to any of its NFC East rivals in the future.
The poison pill, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, said if Parsons was traded to any team in the NFC East, then the Packers would owe the Cowboys an additional first round pick in 2028. The Packers included a similar clause about Dallas sending defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who was part of the Parsons trade, to any of Green Bay’s NFC North rivals.
Parsons is a Pennsylvania native who attended college at Penn State, and a trade to the NFC East’s Philadelphia Eagles would represent a homecoming for the All-Pro.
However, it seems unlikely the Packers will be thinking of trading the edge rusher anytime soon. Parsons has already earned an NFC Defensive Player of the Month award and ranks 10th in the league with 6.5 sacks this season.
The Packers (5-2-1) have the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl, according to FanDuel.
The Packers host the Eagles this week on “Monday Night Football.” The Cowboys (3-5-1) have a bye, then play at the Las Vegas Raiders in the following week’s “Monday Night Football” game.
This story was originally published November 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM.
