The Dallas Cowboys’ blockbuster decision to trade two-time All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers shook the NFL landscape before Week 1 of the 2025 season.
In return, the Cowboys landed Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round draft picks, a haul that marked a new era for Jerry Jones’ franchise.
But according to Jones himself, Green Bay wasn’t his first call.
Speaking on ESPN New York radio with Gary Myers ahead of the Cowboys–Giants matchup, the Cowboys owner, president, and general manager revealed that he had reached out to the New York Jets about a potential Parsons deal—and his target was none other than Quinnen Williams, the Jets’ star defensive tackle.
“I initiated the conversation,” Jones admitted. “Just frankly, [the Jets] didn’t have the resources to entertain conversation.”
When Myers pressed whether Williams, a three-time Pro Bowler and one of the NFL’s top interior defenders, was the centerpiece Jones sought, the Cowboys boss confirmed.
“Yes, you are,” Jones said. “A prerequisite for the entire trade was that we had to have—right now—a really significant dominant inside defensive player, which was our goal to address the run more than we’d been addressing it the previous four years.”
While Williams would have been a bigger headliner than Clark, Jones still secured a strong return for Parsons, who dazzled in his Lambeau Field debut and immediately won over Packers fans.
Despite trading away one of the league’s most dominant defensive players, Jones expressed no regrets.
“Everybody’s looking for the guy that could absolutely singly make the defense,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “Everybody wants that guy. Now, we had him for four years, and you see what we did for four years. So, my point is, one guy doesn’t do it.”
The Cowboys may have lost Parsons, but Jones remains confident his reshaped defense can thrive with Clark anchoring the middle—and with two first-round picks to shape the future.
