The Dallas Cowboys shook the NFL world in August when they traded star edge-rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, and the team inked him to a four-year, $188 million dollar extension.
The deal, which saw the Cowboys saying farewell to Parsons in exchange for two first round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, was one of the biggest moves of the offseason.
The move also left the Cowboys with a void in the crucial edge-rusher position. That hole in their lineup is not lost on NFL analysts and experts who are looking ahead to the league’s Nov. 4 trade deadline.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon laid out 10 bold predictions for the 2025 NFL trade deadline, and he predicted that “we can expect more action in the trade market ahead of November 4,” while “teams prepare for the stretch run of the season.”
One of his predictions is that the New York Jets will trade edge-rusher Jermaine Johnson to the Cowboys to help fill the void left by Parsons.
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“With more of an eye for Will McDonald IV among their edges on rookie deals, the Jets could decide to escape Johnson’s contract before an expensive fifth-year option kicks in for 2026,” Gagnon notes. “Meanwhile, the Cowboys are looking to fill that void left by Micah Parsons.”
So what makes this prediction so over-the-top? As Gagnon notes, the Cowboys would have to work out a long-term deal with Johnson as soon as he arrives in Dallas.
“The Cowboys couldn’t lock Parsons into a long-term deal and would be immediately placed in a similar scenario with Johnson, who missed much of last season due to injury and will cost $13.4 million in 2026, per Spotrac,” he said.
Another thing that makes this trade unlikely is that on Oct. 23, Johnson told reporters that he received “clarity” from the Jets front office.
“I’m definitely wanted here, and I want to stay here,” he told ESPN. “That’s been understood. Hence the tweet.”
Johnson is a Jets first-round pick from 2022 and is on contract through 2026. He missed 15 games last season with a torn Achilles, but even so, the Jets exercised his fifth-year option was exercised with a guaranteed $13.4 million, which really shows his value. He also posted a career-high 7.5 sacks in 2023.
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