The Packers Need To Thank Jerry Jones Yet Again

Last offseason, the Green Bay Packers maneuvered their way into landing superstar Micah Parsons in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys that cost two first-round picks and Kenny Clark. This offseason, the Cowboys got an edge rusher back in another trade with the Packers. Green Bay is sending Rashan Gary to Dallas for a 2027 fourth-round pick.

Thank goodness for Jerry Jones.

It was just a few days before this trade was completed that Gary took to Instagram to announce his farewell from Green Bay, then deleted it and claimed someone had hacked him. Sure, we'll run with that being what actually happened.

General manager Brian Gutekunst

With Gary set to make $18 million this year, there was no shot Green Bay could bring him back on that deal. They could have restructured it, but that felt unlikely. Ultimately, it seemed as though the Packers were destined to release Gary.

Instead, Jones came along and saved the day.

The Packers will eat $17 million in dead cap by trading Gary, but they will also clear $11 million in salary cap space this year. The real gift from Jones here is that, if the Packers had just released Gary, the dead-cap dent and the cap savings would've been identical. Instead of letting Gary go for nothing, Green Bay netted a fourth-round pick in 2027.

That compensation exceeded what many pegged as likely for Gary. Given his contract and the fact that he finished the final 10 games of 2025 without a single sack or tackle for loss, getting anything for him would've been widely viewed as a success. A fourth-rounder is pretty stunning, and it's why outlets like CBS Sports gave the Packers an A- for this trade and the Cowboys a C+.

That was the view through the Dallas side of this. For Green Bay?

So why did this make sense for Dallas?

Clearly, the Cowboys valued Gary; after losing the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes, he was their pivot. Had the Packers released Gary, it's not certain that the Cowboys would've landed the former first-round pick. It's also possible that Dallas can rework the last two years of Gary's contract to make it more reasonable while still paying him his due. Instead of waiting out the market, which can often be a guessing game, Dallas pounced but paid the steep price of a fourth-round pick.

Is this some massive, home-run win for Gutekunst and the Packers? No. It would've been better if Gary had stepped up and delivered on the field, warranting Green Bay to keep him around for a few more years. Given the circumstances, though, getting a trade partner was the best resolution.

For the second offseason in a row, the Packers can count their lucky stars that Jerry Jones exists. It's not an awful trade for the Cowboys. Still, to give up a fourth when the Packers probably would've done this for a sixth or a seventh is pretty fitting, given some of the decisions that have come out of Dallas throughout the years.