Skip Bayless Backs Jerry Jones’ Decision to Let “Overhyped, Overrated, and Overpaid” Micah Parsons Go to Packers

Skip Bayless claimed that the Cowboys came out as the winners in the Micah Parsons trade.

Skip Bayless Backs Jerry Jones’ Decision to Let “Overhyped, Overrated, and Overpaid” Micah Parsons Go to Packers

Micah Parsons and Skip Bayless (Image via IMAGO)

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Most Dallas Cowboys fans mourned Micah Parsons’ trade to the Green Bay Packers, except for one individual. Skip Bayless, a longtime TV personality on ESPN and FOX Sports and lifelong Cowboys fanatic, celebrated that Parsons was no longer in Arlington.

Bayless posted several videos, defending Jerry Jones’ decision to let Parsons leave for a rival despite his pedigree as an elite linebacker. In the latest clip, he called the All-Pro pass rusher the most ‘overhyped’ and ‘soon to be overpaid’ player in the NFL.

Why? From Bayless’s point of view, NFL defenses discovered Parsons’ Achilles heel within the first four years of his career. There’s no denying that he recorded 12+ sacks each season, but he never showed up in the postseason.

In 2024, the Cowboys had the second-worst run defense in the NFL, allowing a staggering 0.084 EPA/play—a stat that got Al Davis fired from his job. While Parsons’ elite skills were on display during pass rush (91.6 grade from PFF), he only had a 65.5 grade (72nd best in the league) in stopping the run. Skip Bayless ranted:

Micah Parsons is obviously no Myles Garrett. He’s no T.J. Watt. He’s not even a Trey Hendrickson to me. He’s not a physical run-stopping football player, and the opposition realized, ‘Let’s just run at him, run him off the field.

Teams have begun to charge straight at Parsons in the last couple of years. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said following the trade:

We need to stop the run, and we haven’t been able to stop the run at key times for several years. When you have the kind of extraordinary pass rush that Micah had, then the way to mitigate that pass rush is to run at you.

Kenny Clark may be the answer the Cowboys were searching for. During his last Pro Bowl season (2023), Clark ranked 10th in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, had a career-high 61 pressures and 12 quarterback hits, and had an average tackle that limited the gain to 1.5 yards. The Packers’ run defense was 0.18 yards per attempt better when he was on the field.

If the Cowboys stick to that logic, then Clark should be their savior. However, he won’t be starting anytime soon. Sam Williams is listed as Parsons’ replacement, followed by Dante Fowler and Marshawn Kneeland in the first unofficial depth chart. All three had worse run defense grades compared to Parsons.

The worst part is that the Cowboys will play the Philadelphia Eagles in week one. The defending world champions averaged 179.3 yards per game last year (second most).

Micah Parsons’ podcast may have played a big part in his trade

Parsons is one of the best defenders in football, who secured multiple All-Pro, Pro Bowl, and Defensive Rookie of the Year accolades. He also struck a deal with Bleacher Report to host a podcast.

Skip Bayless Backs Jerry Jones' Decision to Let "Overhyped, Overrated, and Overpaid" Micah Parsons Go to Packers
Micah Parsons (Image via IMAGO)

However, Parsons’ favorite pastime had become an eyesore for a lot of people in the Cowboys’ facility. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated wrote:

[Zack] Martin, [CeeDee] Lamb, and [Dak] Prescott are [were] very popular in the locker room. That’s not the case with Parsons, who has rankled teammates in different ways and is seen by some as egotistical and self-centered. His podcast has created issues, too, that go all the way up to quarterback Dak Prescott.

Regardless of how anyone felt at one point, Parsons is no longer a Cowboy. He will now wear the number one jersey for the Packers, who handed the NFC East side a major blow in the 2023 playoffs.

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