(PACKERS) – The Green Bay Packers have agreed to terms on a trade with the Dallas Cowboys (pending physicals). The Packers will acquire DL Micah Parsons in exchange for DL Kenny Clark and first-round draft selections in 2026 and 2027. Green Bay and Parsons have also agreed to terms on a contract extension. Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transaction Thursday.
Parsons (6-3, 250), a fifth-year player out of Penn State University, was originally selected by the Cowboys in the first round (No. 12 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft. He has registered 12-plus sacks in each of his first four NFL seasons, joining DE Reggie White (1985-88) as the only players in league history (since 1982) to accomplish that feat. Parsons’ 52.5 sacks since entering the NFL in 2021 are the fifth-most sacks by a player in his first four seasons in league history (since 1982). He also has 18 career multi-sack games, tied for the second most in an NFL player’s first four seasons (White, 23).
Parsons became the first NFL defensive player since Aaron Donald to be named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons and the fourth Cowboy in team history to accomplish that feat (Zack Martin, Emmitt Smith, Mel Renfro). Parsons has earned All-Pro honors from The Associated Press three times, garnering first-team honors in 2021 and 2022 and second-team recognition in 2023. He was the first Cowboy to win AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and the first defensive rookie in franchise history to be named to the AP All-Pro team.
Clark, who was selected by the Packers in the first round (No. 27 overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft, ranks No. 10 in franchise history in sacks with 35 and No. 4 in games played among Green Bay defensive linemen with 140, trailing only Robert Brown (164), Dave Hanner (160) and Ezra Johnson (148). Clark earned three trips to the Pro Bowl (2019, 2021, 2023), joining Henry Jordan (1960-61, 1963, 1966) as the only Packers defensive tackles to make three-plus Pro Bowls. Clark’s 40 sacks from 2017-24 (including playoffs) ranked No. 3 on the team over that span (Preston Smith, 47½; Rashan Gary, 43½) and his seven forced fumbles led the Packers. Clark’s five career postseason sacks rank No. 4 in team history (since 1982) and tied for No. 8 in the NFL since 2019.
“We want to thank Kenny for the incredible impact he made in the locker room, on the field and in the community during his nine seasons in Green Bay,” said Gutekunst. “From the time he arrived in 2016, Kenny established himself as one of the top defensive tackles in the league and in the history of this franchise with his production, durability and leadership. He had the respect of everyone in the organization and epitomized what it meant to be a Green Bay Packer. Kenny will be greatly missed, and we wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future.”
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