RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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After the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons to the Packers last year, Dallas owner and G.M. Jerry Jones compared the move to the Herschel Walker trade from 1989.
On Thursday, Jerry did it again.
"You could say those picks got us key players, but the main thing that the Herschel Walker trade did, it caused me to be more aggressive and caused us to, if you will, take more risk because we had more picks," Jones said, via Todd Archer of ESPN.
But the Parsons deal sacrificed one of the best defensive players in the NFL for a 2026 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. For Walker, who had one 1,000-yard performance in three NFL seasons, the Cowboys emerged with three first-round picks, three second-round picks, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick.
Still, Jerry views the two extra first-round picks as the spark needed to turn him into a gambler.
"It's like going to Las Vegas with some extra money in your pocket or going out there with the baby's new pair of shoes and formula money in your pocket," Jones said. "You can't be as good a crapshooter as you are when you've got the baby's new pair of shoes throwing out there with it.
"So, in a way, this actually created a mental part to us and to my role in it with me, to step out and make the moves and take, if you will, risks that are involved to be where we are today with a complete makeover of the defense."
Jones nevertheless acknowledges that Parsons is a special talent.
"Even though Micah's an outstanding talent [that] anybody would like to have, the bottom line is that I like what the result of the trade has ended up as I stand here today," Jones said.
Frankly, it's no surprise. That's Jerry's way. The glass is always half-full, even when it's not. He craves interest in his team, and he knows how to generate it.
But if he's truly serious about the Parsons trade causing future picks to burn a hole in his pocket, he should be looking to make more deals. Especially if the Raiders struggle to start the season and defensive end Maxx Crosby once again becomes available.
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