As the Dallas Cowboys prepare for tonight’s meaningless preseason final against the New Orleans Saints, it’s an opportunity to remind you that owner Jerry Jones actually did it.

One year ago today he traded four-time Pro Bowler Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, ushering in a seismic shift for the organization.

Jones usually didn’t part with ways him home grown, generationally talents like Parsons, who was on a Hall of Fame tract after four years with the Cowboys.

But the relationship had grown too toxic. The contract impasse had become too deeply personal and seemingly past the point of no return with accusations of betrayal coming from both sides.

So Jones traded Parsons to the Packers for 2026 and 2027 first-round picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark.

The Packers signed Parsons to a four-year, $188 million deal with $136 million guaranteed that will make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at $47 million per year.

The Cowboys went on to finish 7-9-1, while fielding the worst defense in franchise history and one of the worst in NFL history. Parsons had another great season, making the Pro Bowl again, before suffering a torn ACL that will sideline him for at least the first month of 2026.

Jones said the decision trade Parsons was about the making the Cowboys better in the present and the future.

They weren’t better in 2025 and the future is now.

Will the deal pay off for the Cowboys in 2026?

Jones has often compared the Parsons trade to the Herschel Walker trade of the early 1990s. Walker was famously shipped the Minnesota Vikings for a bushel of players and picks that ultimately became the fire starter for the Cowboys winning three Super Bowls in fours and becoming the team of the 1990s.

No one will got that far.

But Jones actually that the Parsons trade has made him more aggressive and increasingly more urgent in trying to finally put a winner back on the field in Dallas.

The Cowboys have not been the NFC title game or the Super Bowl since their last title following the 1995 season.

Will they be able to get in done one year after the Parsons trade?

The Cowboys certainly like their chances.

The Cowboys then used the 2027 first-rounder from the Packers and a 2026 second-round pick of their own to acquire defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets at last year’s trade deadline.

They used the Packers 2026 first-rounder to select pass rusher Malachi Lawrence with the No. 23 pick in April’s draft.

They also used the money saved from not paying Parsons to extend Williams and bolster their roster with the offseason signing of safety Jalen Thompson and trading for edge rusher Rashan Gary.

Last year’s putrid record also put them in the position to draft rookie safety Caleb Downs 11th overall.

All are expected to big factors in a defensive turnaround in 2026 that will hopefully help fuel a deep run in the playoffs. More the point, Jones said the Cowboys will be aggressive in trying to add another difference making player during the season if it’s necessary to get the Cowboys over the hump.

The run defense will be better.

Questions remain regarding the pass rush but that’s one reason the Cowboys signed veteran edge rusher Von Miller the last week of training camp and why they aren’t ruling out doing another deal.

(Maxx Crosby?)

Jones wants to win the Super Bowl.

He also wants to prove he was right and win the Parsons trade.

Can he have it all in 2026?