It’s the blockbuster trade of the summer. Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys finally came to a resolution – to part ways for good. The four-time NFL Pro Bowler has just been ousted by owner Jerry Jones and sent packing to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. Almost immediately, the 26-year-old reached an agreement with the Wisconsin outfit – a team Parsons had been linked to recently – on a record-breaking four-year, $188 million contract, $120 million of which is fully guaranteed. This was something Jones and the team were unwilling to cater to, with the 82-year-old admitting on Thursday that he would have made the star edge rusher play on his fifth-year option in 2025, which equates to between $21.3-24 million. “Basically I think I read where [Parsons] said that I replied, ‘We’re playing under the contract as it exists right now, get ready to play in Philadelphia.’ Correct. That was correct,” he said.“Nothing in the world am I criticizing Micah about at all,” Jones added. “That was ever bit his right, and Micah has never been anything but so pleasant to be around. . . . Things are good here. “We have just decided that it was in the best interest of our team and take the consideration that we have — we appreciate his four years — but we can take that consideration and we can win more than had we gone the other route and signed him. “That’s not a negative on Micah. That’s just unique to our circumstances.”Now with an average annual salary of $47 million per season, this now makes Parsons the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. Many have questioned the intentions of Jones, who is no stranger to being involved in contract disputes with star players before eventually going on to pay them, and are still bewildered by the fact that Parsons was let go in any capacity. Skeptics may argue that Jones didn’t even realise he was trading Parsons, after having repeatedly referred to him as ‘Michael’, with his son Stephen having to correct him throughout the Cowboys’ press conference on Thursday in light of the trade.“Did I talk to Michael?” Jones Sr said at one point.Son Stephen then awkwardly interjected to correct his father.“Micah,” the younger Jones said.It’s all smiles for Parsons as he has now got his move away from the CowboysGettyJerry Jones kept calling his former play ‘Michael’GettyBut the harsh – for Cowboys fans anyway – reality is that Jones is of the belief that trading away a generational defensive talent actually makes the NFC East team better, despite having stood pat up until Thursday that he was never going to make a trade involving Parsons. “[We got] a lot of capital that is required to build a team,” Jones said. “It takes many players, to be trite, to play in the NFL. It takes 11 on the field at the same time. It takes a minimum of 30 or 40 — at minimum — to have both offense and defense, not including players who are involved in our special teams. “So, it takes more than one. You do have to allocate your resources whether it be draft picks or whether it be finances. There was no question in our mind that [Micah] could bring a lot of resources in a trade. That has been on my mind since we hired Brian [Schottenheimer]. So, there was no question.”In Parsons, the Cowboys have lost a talent whose 52.5 sacks in four seasons, along with 256 tackles, 63 tackles for losses and 112 QB hits has firmly put him on a Hall of Fame trajectory already.But, with two first-round draft picks now in his possession, Jones hasn’t get ruled out the possibility that they will be used in other moves to acquire a plethora of proven players as he now looks to rebuild his defense with the 2025 season just days away from kicking off. “Those draft picks could get top, Pro Bowl-type players,” Jones continued. “Could. Not necessarily. Let me be quick to say: You won’t necessarily get those players. You’ve got to draft them or acquire them. But they can get us as few as three or as many as five outstanding players. Parsons has become the highest-paid non-QB after reaching a deal with the PackersGettyKenny Clark is hoping to shore up the Cowboys defenseGettyNow, not only do they contribute in a game that needs a lot of players on the field — not to be elementary — but they also give you better odds that they’re going to be a high percentage of those are going to be available just from the standpoint of attrition or from the standpoint of just sheer limit on how far one player can go. “Very few players are Deion [Sanders] playing a hundred plays a game.”Last season, the Cowboys allowed more than 140 rushing yards in eight of their 17 regular season games, seeing them concede the fourth-most rushing yards in the entire NFL. Stephen Jones, the Cowboys EVP, believes the acquisition of Clark should bolster this, with the three-time Pro Bowler having tallied 417 tackles (236 solo), 51 tackles for loss, 76 QB hits and 35 sacks in his nine-year career with the Packers. “Kenny Clark is a big part of this,” he said. “That was a big part of winning right now, and we feel like when you look at the frustration is we hadn’t been able to win the big games in the playoffs, and we think it is a direction connection to not being able to stop the run. “And we think Kenny Clark is going to be a big piece to that. We felt like because of our depth on the edge, as well as the ability to scheme pressure, that we could make up for Micah because obviously he’s elite at rushing the passer that we can make up for that.”Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for news, exclusive interviews and more.