Both general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur held press conferences before the Green Bay Packers officially introduced All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons during a historic day at Lambeau Field on Friday.
Before being introduced, Parsons completed a physical and then signed a four-year extension with the Packers, keeping him under contract through the 2029 season.
Five things learned from Parsons’ introductionin Green Bay:
Rare acquisition gets a rare number
Both Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur described Parsons as a “unique” player and emphasized how rare opportunities to acquire a truly elite player like Parsons is in pro football.
“This is a very unique player that rarely becomes available to us,” Gutekunst said Friday.
Added LaFleur: “What a rare, rare, rare opportunity to get a guy of his caliber.”
Parsons is 26, just signed his second professional contract and is coming off a four-year stretch featuring four Pro Bowls, three All-Pro teams and 52.5 sacks to begin his NFL career. He has as at least 12 sacks during each of his first four seasons, joining Reggie White as the only players to accomplish the feat, suggesting he’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
A rare player deserved a rare number. Picking between 0 and 1, Parsons picked No. 1 — and now he’ll become the first Packers player to wear the number in a regular season game since Curly Lambeau. No. 11 — number at Penn State and with the Cowboys — is worn by receiver Jayden Reed.
Bittersweet to trade Clark
The excitement of Parsons’ arrival was offset slightly by the necessary departure of Kenny Clark, who went to Dallas with two first-round picks in the trade for Parsons. Gutekunst said the Packers had to include Clark in the deal to get it done with the Cowboys, who were looking for defensive tackle help.
“What an exceptional player, exceptional person. Really hard to see him go, but there was really no way around it. That was the one thing that was going to be part of this trade for them,” Gutekunst said.
Clark, a 2016 first-round pick, played nine seasons with the Packers. He was the last player on the roster acquired by former Packers general manager Ted Thompson, and Clark was the rare player to get a third contract from the Packers.
“It’s extremely bittersweet,” LaFleur said. “I’m really thankful for our time together. He’s a pro’s pro. Obviously a great player. As great of a player he is, I believe he’s an even better person.”
Parsons said he won’t try to “replace” Clark and is only interested in upkeeping the standard set by Clark over nearly a decade in Green bay. Both Gutekunst and LaFleur expressed confidence in the remaining defensive tackles on the roster, and Gutekunst is excited about the opportunities ahead for Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden.
Parsons ready to seize his “moment”
Walking around the historic grounds at Lambeau Field can be inspirational to even the game’s best players. Everywhere you look, both inside the stadium and around the facility, there are reminders of the greatness accomplished by legendary players of the past.
And after seeing the likes of Brett Favre and Reggie White inside Lambeau Field, Parsons is even more motivated to add an important chapter to his own legacy.
“I looked on that wall and I saw Brett Favre, I saw Reggie, I saw all those legends, and I was like ‘I’ve got to be there.’ You go in the draft room and they’re all having their hands up. They’re all having that moment,” Parsons said. “I’m looking for that moment. I’m going to take advantage of this moment and maximize it to reach that moment.”
Parsons said “winning is everything” and wants to “win real bad.” He tasted the playoffs in Dallas but never got further than the divisional round. In Green Bay, the true legends are measured by Super Bowl wins, and now Parsons has his opportunity to help the Packers bring home a Lombardi Trophy.
Ed Policy was informed, but did not influence, Parsons trade
Gutekunst said team president and CEO Ed Policy was made aware of the incoming trade and the financial impact of acquiring Parsons, but the first-year leader did not influence the football staff in any way regarding the trade.
Policy was supportive of the move and signed off on the financial commitment of making Parsons one of the highest paid players in NFL history.
“Certainly, with a move like this, it’s certainly something that I would let him know that we were going down this road,” Gutekunst said. “When we’re signing practice squad guys, we don’t do that, but with something like this, the magnitude of the financial part of it, let him know that we’re going down this road and make sure that the organization’s prepared for it.”
Parsons’ new deal is a four-year extension worth $188 million. He received a $44 million signing bonus and has over $70 million more in guaranteed option bonuses. While Gutekunst acknowledged the Packers would have hard salary cap related decisions to make in the future, he was happy with the cap numbers in the first three years — Parsons’ cap number is under $10 million in 2025 and doesn’t rise above $30 million in 2025, 2026 or 2027.
“Looking at it right now, the cap numbers for ’25, ’26 and ’27, I think are pretty solid for us, and we’ll kind of see where that goes,” Gutekunst said.
Parsons feels good, and the Packers can’t wait to unleash him
Parsons missed time this summer with back tightness, which almost certainly related to his contract disrupte with the Cowboys, but he said he feels “great” and is ready to contribute right away. The Packers will give him a ramp up period and won’t play him full-time immediately after Parsons missed training camp.
“I’m going to team up with the doctors in creating a plan. We already talked about how we can ramp things up and get me into a flow where they feel comfortable and I feel comfortable,” Parsons said.
The Packers return to the facility on Sunday and will begin on-field prep for the Detroit Lions next week. While Parsons said he worked out hard and dilligently while away from the Cowboys, LaFleur needs to see where his new pass-rusher is at physically before coming up a plan for the start of the season.
in terms of usage, Parsons said defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has “a lot planned” for him, and he “loves to move around” the defensive front. Hafley could use him as a traditional edge rusher in the 4-3 base, stand him up as a linebacker or give him opportunity to blitz standing up across from the center or guard.
LaFleur said game-planning against Parsons kept him up at night, and he’s expecting offensive coordinators on the Packers schedule to feel that same stress.
“He can wreck a game in a hurry,” LaFleur said. “Going against him, you have to be very very careful who you put on him and your protections.”
LaFleur added that Parsons has made a lot of offensive linemen “look really bad” and he wins as a pass rusher “so fast.”
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 5 things learned from Packers introduction of All-Pro Micah Parsons
