The Chicago Bears are just beginning to see how their 2025 roster might come together in the early days of NFL training camp, but a recent blunder by the Dallas Cowboys may have opened the door for them to bring in a superstar.
Earlier this week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sparked controversy with his comments about the team’s ongoing contract negotiations with All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons. Jones specifically pointed to Parsons’ injury history — inaccurately, mind you — in an attempt to justify why he has reservations about signing him to a market-resetting deal.
“Just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re gonna have him,” Jones said of Parsons. “He was hurt six games last year. Seriously. I remember signing a player for the highest paid at the position in the league, and he got knocked out two-thirds of the year: Dak Prescott. So there’s a lot of things you could think about when you’re — just as the player does — when you’re thinking about committing and guaranteeing money.”
In response, former NFL pass rusher J.J. Watt called out Jones for publicly taking “a dig” at two of his star players in a post to his X account, which Parsons reposted to his account before quickly deleting it — an indication that Jones’ words bothered him.
Now, things have not deteriorated between Parsons and the Cowboys to the point where he is making trade demands. But if Jones’ ego continues to complicate the negotiation process and Parsons reaches that point, the Bears could attempt to swing a blockbuster.
Bears Unlikely to Trade for DE … Unless it is Micah Parsons
The Bears’ name gets brought up in trade speculation just about any time a veteran pass rusher comes available. Look no further than Trey Hendrickson’s ongoing standoff with the Cincinnati Bengals. Analysts have argued for months that the Bears should make a trade for him, despite the high price they’d have to pay for a nearly 31-year-old player.
On many levels, an edge rusher trade does not make sense for the Bears. They have two of the NFL’s 20 highest-paid pass rushers on their roster between Montez Sweat (eighth at $24.5 million annually) and free-agent signing Dayo Odeyingbo (20th at $16 million annually). Even if they have doubts, that’s a lot of money devoted to the position.
Parsons, however, is too much of a unicorn for them to pass up if he becomes available.
Micah Parsons is Only Just Entering his NFL Prime
Parsons has dominated the game over his first four seasons, registering at least 12 sacks and generating consistent pressure for the Cowboys’ defense off the edge. He has also tallied 256 total tackles with 63 tackles for a loss and 112 quarterback hits, finishing among the top three vote-getters for NFL Defensive Player of the Year in three years.
Contrary to Jones’ comments, Parsons has also only missed five games in his four-year career, including four games — not six — in 2024 because of a high-ankle sprain.
Parsons’ production and availability are rare to find in tandem, even rarer considering he turned 26 about three months ago and is only just entering the prime of his career. Even if the Bears have confidence in Sweat and Odeyingbo, it would be a no-brainer for them to explore a trade for Parsons — if the Cowboys eventually make him available.
How Much Would Micah Parsons Trade Cost Chicago?
The Bears would be foolish not to explore trading for Parsons if the Cowboys were to put him on the market, but the cost of doing business would be a major factor.
In terms of trade capital, a pair of first-round picks is the baseline. The Bears gave up two first-rounders and additional assets to land Khalil Mack in 2018, and Parsons has greater prestige as a pass rusher at this stage of his career than Mack did. They would also likely need to include at least one Day 2 selection (and maybe a player, if they have an edge rusher on their roster who would become redundant with Parsons’ acquisition).
There’s also the inordinate contract cost. The belief is that Parsons wants to reset the market for NFL edge rushers, which T.J. Watt ($41 million per year) now helms after signing a lucrative extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week. Even if Parsons is willing to settle for top-five money, the Bears would still need to pay him more than $34 million per season — which is difficult to do with Sweat and Odeyingbo on the books.
The Bears could pull all the salary-cap levers at their disposal and make hard choices to create the necessary space, but it would dramatically reframe their future spending — both in terms of cap space for future offseasons and selections in upcoming drafts.
Micah Parsons Understands if ‘This is the End’ With Cowboys
For now, the Bears can only theorize about what it would take to acquire Parsons from the Cowboys. It remains possible that Parsons and the Cowboys work past Jones’ pig-headedness and get a deal on the books before the start of the 2025 regular season, too.
If Jones clings to his cheapness and continues to low-ball his star pass rusher, though, Parsons has made it clear that he is comfortable moving on if “this is the end” in Dallas.
“Honestly, for me, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been pretty consistent. If they don’t want me here, they don’t want me here. I’ll go about my business. I understand the nature of the business,” Parsons said via The Athletic. “As far as I’m here and under contract, I’m going to do what I have to do to perform at the highest level. But if this is the end, this is the end.”
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