As LaVar Arrington often says, "ST1X C1TY is a place". The legendary former linebacker at Penn State has been a mentor to many star Nittany Lions defenders who have made their way through State College over the years. This would include Dallas Cowboys superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons and arguably the best player in the entire 2025 NFL Draft in Penn State star Abdul Carter.
With how strange things have gotten under Jerry Jones of late, it would not shock me if he decided to trade Parsons this offseason, as opposed to giving him the mega contract extension he deserves. K.D. Drummond of Cowboys Wire proposed a trade to send Parsons to the New England Patriots in exchange for a boat load of picks, including No. 4 overall to then draft Carter. Should they consider it?
Drummond has Parsons getting a five-year, $205 million contract with $90 million fully guaranteed.
Admittedly, it is going to take more than the No. 4 overall pick this year to get New England to punt on its future in favor of landing Parsons. That team is devoid of talent, so I highly doubt they would be willing to give up their first-round pick in 2026 as a part of this trade package. That is the pick that loses me, but I think the Patriots could find a way to do without the other four as a part of the deal.
If the Cowboys end up pulling this off, it could be their greatest heist since the Herschel Walker trade.
How Dallas Cowboys could replace Micah Parsons with Abdul Carter
We are talking about replacing Parsons with essentially the newest version of him in Carter in the draft. You add the absurd amount of capital slated to come over to the Cowboys as part of this trade, and only Jones could find a way to screw it up. What you have to remember is the greatest run in Cowboys history can as a result of a lopsided trade. Of course, Jimmy Johnson made it for them...
What I am getting at is there is a lot of stuff that needs to happen between now and then for this trade to even manifest. It would require the Tennessee Titans taking Miami quarterback Cam Ward No. 1 overall, as well as the Cleveland Browns drafting Colorado quarterback Sheduer Sanders at No. 2 and for the New York Giants to select Sanders' Colorado teammate in cornerback Travis Hunter at No. 3.
This is the only way that Carter were to some how miraculously fall to No. 4. In that instance, do you honestly think a former Big Ten linebacker himself in Mike Vrabel is going to give up on the idea of Carter in favor of a known commodity in Parsons? See, every team picking in the top four right now has at least some level of intrigue in taking Carter. It is why the Patriots are not going to do this trade.
For as great as this all might be in theory, we will not see the Cowboys have their cake and eat it, too.