Distraught Michael Irvin Says Parsons Had to Have Hurt Jerry Jones ‘Personally’ to Force Trade

Cowboys fans are not the only ones struggling to come to grips with a life without Micah Parsons on their team. Cowboys legend Michael Irvin is flummoxed as well, and he believes Parsons had to have “hurt Jerry [Jones] personally” for the shocking trade to have been made.

The Dallas Cowboys shocked the sports world on Thursday by trading Parsons, a two-time All-Pro considered by many to be the best overall player in the NFL, to their hated rival, the Packers, for two 1st round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.

Speaking about the trade on his podcast, the visibly distraught Hall of Famer says that the only way the trade makes sense is if the tense contract standoff between Jones and Parsons turned personal.

“I know he [Jones] loved Micah Parsons,” Irvin said Thursday on his YouTube channel, “So, in order for us to be right here, something had to go down to hurt Jerry personally to make this crazy, dumb move.”

The Cowboys and Parsons were at odds over a massive contract extension. Tensions rose earlier this year after Jones refused to meet with Parsons’ agent, believing he and his star player had already come to an agreement.

To the claim that Jones and Parsons worked out their deal privately, Parsons claims that just isn’t true.

“Yes I engaged in a back and forth in regards to what I wanted from my contract, but at no point did I believe this was supposed to be a formal negotiation and I informed Mr. Jones afterward my agent would reach out thinking this would get things done,” Parsons wrote earlier this month.

“But when my agent reached out and spoke to [ESPN’s] Adam [Schefter], he was told the deal was pretty much already done. My agent, of course, told him that wasn’t the case and also reached out to Stephen Jones. Again, the team decided to go silent.

“At that point, we decided we would allow the team to reach out to us whenever they decided they wanted to talk. Yet still not a call, email, or text to my agent about starting negotiations. Up to today, the team has not had a single conversation with my agent about a contract. Not one demand has been made by my agent about money, years, or anything else.”

Jones’s comments about Parsonns’ injury proclivity did not help matters either.

“This is exactly what I was scared and worried about, and I tried to say that I wanted Micah to try to take control of this because, right now, you see what has happened, this isn’t about football. This was about personal, emotions, and it just got to a boiling point,” Irvin said.

“I really wish that Micah would have taken control of this. I can’t imagine this is what he really wanted. I just cannot imagine that he really wanted to be leaving Dallas.”

To that point, Parsons confirms he did not want his time in Dallas to end.

“I never wanted this chapter to end, but not everything was in my control,” Parsons wrote. “My heart has always been here, and it still is. Through it all, I never made any demands. I never asked for anything more than fairness. I only asked that the person I trust to negotiate my contract be part of the process.

“This is a sad day, but not a bitter one. I’ll never forget the joy of draft night, the adrenaline of running out of the tunnel, or the brotherhood shared with my teammates, coaches and the staff who prepared me for every single game. Those memories are mine forever.”