Why Cowboys Shouldn’t Regret Micah Parsons Trade After Dealing For Joey Porter Jr.

Terry Bradshaw won’t back down from his take that the Dallas Cowboys won the Micah Parsons trade. After the Cowboys’ big swing to land cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this week, Bradshaw said that Dallas shouldn’t regret trading Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. “I don’t think they do at all,” Bradshaw said on “FOX NFL Sunday.” “That’s some great talent.” The Cowboys traded Parsons for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark just one week before the start of the 2025 season, with their defense taking a significant hit. Dallas ranked 30th in total defense and last in scoring defense following the Parsons trade last season, and it hasn’t done much better to start this year. The Cowboys’ defense ranks 30th in total defense again this year, and is 25th in scoring defense. But Bradshaw argued that the trade will pay dividends for the Cowboys in the future. “They got two really good kids in the first round on defense,” Bradshaw said. “I think it was a really good move.” Dallas used one of the first-round picks it got for Parsons to draft UCF defensive end Malachi Lawrence. However, as a result of having a poor defense, the Cowboys were also in a spot to draft safety Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick. Downs has arguably been the best defensive rookie so far this season, logging three forced fumbles, a sack and 21 total tackles. However, the Cowboys have needed to invest major resources in their defense since the Parsons trade. In addition to using two first-round picks on defensive players, the Cowboys traded a 2027 first-round pick to land defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets last season before surrendering a second-round pick to acquire Porter this week. With that in mind, nearly everyone else on the “NFL on FOX” set disagreed with Bradshaw’s take. However, Rob Gronkowski added a caveat. “They miss his production on the field,” Gronkowski said, implying that the Cowboys don’t miss Parsons’ off-field persona.