It’s the last time preseason news will take the forefront of the NFL as Week 1 is finally here. One team that can’t escape the preseason, though, is the Dallas Cowboys. They traded Micah Parsons for a couple first round picks and Kenny Clark and that will forever be the storyline of this team as long as Jerry Jones is running it.
Jones is stubborn and as a result, it caused one of the most destructive players and franchise cornerstone, Parsons, to be dealt to the Green Bay Packers. But there’s more to Parsons being dealt than Jones’ stubbornness. We’ll dive into that, plus Jaxson Dart’s big preseason turning into Week 1 hype and what the Cleveland Browns should do about Shedeur Sanders.
Jerry Jones was even pettier with Micah Parsons than we thought
We all knowJerry Jones refused to negotiate with Micah Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta. While I respect Jones for wanting to reason with Parsons himself as he’s the one that’s going to be playing, this is the 21st century and “good faith” negotiations between players and owners don’t work anymore.
The fact that Jones refused to talk with Parsons’ agent just doesn’t make sense. If he valued Parsons and what he meant to this team, he wouldn’t have let something as simple as who he negotiates with determine how things get resolved. Jones like to be in control and have all the power. This was a situation where he didn’t have that. Instead of trying to reason with Parsons’ agent, he neglected him altogether. That was never going to work out.
But Dianna Russini of The Athletic ($) is reporting that Jones might've been even more petty in the ordeal. According to the insider's sources, Parsons had two preferred landing spots in a trade: the Green Bay Packers, where he obviously eventually landed, and the Philadelphia Eagles. However, Jones refused to deal Parsons to the Cowboys' biggest rival, even if Philly was willing to offer the better trade package.
On one hand, you can understand Jones' reluctance to make a deal of this magnitude with the Eagles. However, the Cowboys owner also took a subpar return by many people's estimation from the Packers, which makes it seem like he was willing to do worse business in order to both keep the Eagles and Parsons unhappy.
Browns all but guarantee Shedeur Sanders is a developmental project
Elsewhere in the NFL, Russini reported that it wasn’t Browns owner Jimmy Haslam’s call to take Shedeur Sanders with their fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, rather it was general manager Andrew Berry’s call. That’s a sign the Cleveland Browns are trying to get it right. Taking two rookie quarterbacks in the second round didn’t seem like a smart move at first. But below the surface, it was a chance for Cleveland to prepare for the future the right way.
The Browns aren’t planning on playing Sanders at all this year. His stark contrast between his two preseason games is proof the Browns turning to him means they haven’t learned anything in their decades long search for their starting quarterback. Cleveland taking their time with Sanders, who clearly has more potential than Dillon Gabriel, is proof they want to make sure he’s ready, rather than ruin his development by putting him in a situation set up for him to fail.
Gabriel showed he’s the most NFL-ready now, and Joe Flacco was always going to start for this team. Sanders is hopefully their savior from taking yet another risk at a quarterback in next year’s draft. While that’s probably the plan, what if they can turn two first-round picks into bigger needs and then have Sanders and Gabriel battling for the starting job?
The Browns have ruined the potential of way too many quarterbacks, they can’t add Sanders to that list. Browns fans, be patient and appreciate the front office and coaching staff's patience with Sanders. It might just work out in the end.
Giants love Jaxson Dart so much, the Commanders expect him to play
The New York Giants traded up to make sure they got Jaxson Dart and it ended up being a move they’ll ultimately appreciate. Brian Daboll can’t afford to have another dud of a season so Russell Wilson will be the starter. But that hasn’t kept him from testing Dart early in a low-pressure situation. Right now Dart doesn’t have to prepare to start each week, but the love in the building is palpable for the rookie, and the staff is readying him for whenever his moment comes.
According to Russini, Daboll is going back to some of his New England roots and throwing Dart is uncomfortable practice situations and having him hear plays shouted out from the sideline rather than through the headset. The goal is if he gets unique situations now, it won’t faze him in the game.
More notable from the report, though, is that the Giants' love for Dart and the preparations being taken to get him ready whenever isn't going unnoticed by opponents. Going into the Week 1 matchup against rival Washington, the Commanders have actually been getting defensive practice reps to prepare for Dart, just in case. That goes to show just how unhidden New York's belief in the rookie quarterback is
Back to the Giants, though, Daboll’s plan is also a way of trying to keep Dart ready in case Wilson looks more like he did at the end of last year rather than the beginning of his lone season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Daboll has a very short leash and sure he drafted Dart in hopes of coaching him long term. Daboll won’t be here past this season if the Giants struggle yet again and he won’t have a chance to coach Dart. If things get bad with Wilson, his last straw to save his job could fall in Dart’s hands; it’s best he’s well-prepared for anything.