The Detroit Lions’ 2025 Week 1 opponent, the Green Bay Packers, have acquired All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys in a monster trade ahead of the regular season. The terms of the deal have the Packers giving up two first-round picks and Lion-killer defensive tackle Kenny Clark in exchange for Parsons.
The Lions and Packers play each other in their season openers in Green Bay, and this move should dramatically impact the scope of how this game will be played. Let’s look at the pros and cons of this deal from the Lions’ perspective.
Cons for the Lions
- Parsons is a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate
- Lining him up opposite Rahsan Gary is scary
- The EDGE market has been reset ahead of the Lions’ deal with Aidan Hutchinson (shout out to The Joker on Twitter for this reminder)
There is little doubt that the Packers’ pass rush got significantly better with this deal. In recent seasons, the Packers have been unable to find a consistent pass rusher opposite Rashan Gary, and this year they were scheduled to have former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness in that starting role. Van Ness has had a difficult first two years in the NFL, only registering seven sacks and 38 pressures (per PFF) over his first 34 games played. Compare that to Parsons, who played just 13 games last season but managed to record 12 sacks and 70 pressures.
With Gary typically lining up across from the Lions’ Penei Sewell, that means Taylor Decker will draw Parsons. While Decker, a Pro Bowler last season, is capable of handling business against even the best pass rushers in the NFL, he is 32 years old and coming off an offseason surgery. That puts a heavy priority on the Lions making concrete plans for the future on what life will look like after Decker.
While planning for the future at offensive tackle, this move also makes things significantly more challenging for the Lions when it comes to re-signing their own Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Aidan Hutchinson. General manager Brad Holmes mentioned at his Thursday press conference that an extension remains “very important,” and that dialogue has begun on an upcoming extension. The Parsons contract certainly adds a new wrinkle to things.
Pros for the Lions
- Parsons has just 10 days to acclimate before taking on the Lions
- Kenny Clark is out of the division
- How will they stop the run?
- Packers will take on a $26.9 million cap hit by dealing Clark
- $47 million per year average will impact their ability to sign/re-sign players
- The Packers are without their next two first-round picks
Parsons can probably step on the field tomorrow and play effective defense, but one of his best qualities is his ability to do so many things. With the Lions on the docket in just 10 days, how much of the Packers’ defense can he absorb? The Lions could end up getting a break by facing the Packers in Week 1.
Clark has historically been a Lion killer, and with him out of the division, the Lions should be jumping for joy, especially the players on the interior. One of the Lions’ biggest question marks this offseason was how quickly their interior offensive line would gel. Now, the Lions’ interior will face the likes of Karl Brooks instead of Clark, which should make their lives significantly easier.
This offseason, the Packers got lighter and more athletic, and raised some serious questions about their ability to stop the run. Now, with their best run defender traded, this looks like an even more daunting task for Green Bay. Don’t be surprised by the Lions, who were already prioritising the run to help their interior offensive line, double down on establishing the run in Week 1 in order to take control of the game.
From a salary cap and roster-building perspective, the Packers also made their lives significantly harder with this deal. Ahead of this trade, the Packers had approximately $23 million in salary cap space. While they’ll likely keep Parsons’ 2025 salary cap hit low, the eventual $47 million per year average will eventually catch up with them. For example, when you combine Jordan Love’s $100+ million contract with Parsons’ new $100+ million deal and Gary’s $96 million contract, the Packers will have over $100 million tied up in that trio for each of the next three seasons. While certainly worth the money, that puts a lot of strain on the rest of the roster to play at a higher level on cheaper contracts, and general manager Brian Gutekunst will need to hit on the majority of his draft picks. Making things even harder on Gutekunst is the fact that he will have to achieve this feat without a first-round draft pick in each of the next two seasons.
At the end of the day, the Lions surely hate to see Parsons in Green Bay, but the cost to acquire him could open some doors for the Lions to take advantage.
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