Micah Parsons to the Philadelphia Eagles? Jalen Carter with the Dallas Cowboys? It almost happened, according to Parsons.
During a live taping of his podcast from San Francisco, the All-Pro linebacker revealed to Eagles receiver A.J. Brown that they were nearly teammates this past season.
“So, to be honest with you bro, it was very close,” Parsons said to Brown and Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. “It was very close. Eagles before the Jaelan Phillips, before all of them, it was me. And I was really about to come.”
“But there was one person I had to play with and if he was gone, I didn’t want to be there and that was Jalen Carter,” he added. “They wanted a D-tackle. And they wanted to trade me plus some picks. I don’t really care about the picks, but I’m going to play next to JC, you feel me? Yeah. Sorry Cowboys fans, it really almost happened. I feel like the trajectory would’ve changed.”
The full podcast can be seen here. Parsons’ remarks about the Eagles begin at the 6:15 mark.
Parsons’ story certainly checks out. The Eagles were reportedly aggressive in pursuing the edge rusher before the Cowboys traded him to the Green Bay Packers in August. And Parsons, who grew up near Philadelphia and played college football at Penn State, wanted to play for the Eagles someday. But not without playing next to one of the team’s best players in Carter.
Yet Dallas was unlikely to deal its defensive star to an NFC East rival. The Cowboys also wanted to ensure that the Packers wouldn’t somehow flip him to Philadelphia, as unlikely as that seemed, by including a provision in the terms of the trade. A condition of the deal was that Green Bay would have to trade its 2028 first-round pick to Dallas if Parsons was traded to an NFC East team before the end of the 2026 NFL season, according to ESPN.
The Cowboys showed that they coveted a defensive tackle by getting Kenny Clark from the Packers in exchange for Parsons, along with first-round selections in 2026 and 2027. Dallas further tried to strengthen its interior defensive line at the trade deadline by acquiring Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets.
Parsons referencing what could have been compels “what if” dreaming for Eagles fans and Cowboys fans.
With Parsons on its defense, would Philadelphia have surged toward a second consecutive Super Bowl title? (The Eagles finished 13th among NFL teams in total defense.) Could he have made the difference in the Eagles’ 23-19 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers? Philadelphia ended up trading for edge rusher Jaelan Phillips at the deadline.
The three-time All-Pro suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a Week 15 defeat to the Denver Broncos. In 14 games, he tallied 12.5 sacks, 27 quarterback hits, 12 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and 41 tackles in his first season with the Packers.
And as Parsons acknowledged, the Cowboys would have benefited by adding Carter, named to his second Pro Bowl after compiling 33 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 12 QB hits and seven passes defended. Perhaps he could have helped Dallas into the playoffs instead of finishing 7-9-1 and out of the postseason.
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