Three big lingering Micah Parsons questions for the Packers after their shocking trade

The Green Bay Packers made a trade 30 other NFL teams would have loved to make, but that doesn't mean everything is set for Matt LaFleur's team.

Happy Labor Day!

It’s close enough to the trade to still be Micah Parsons day for those who celebrate as well.

The Green Bay Packer shocked the NFL world with the biggest trade in franchise history and one of the most consequential trades of the last decade for any team. But that doesn’t mean the team is totally set or we know exactly what will happen next.

Today’s holiday edition of Free Monday newsletter focuses on what questions still need to be answered around this trade as the team gets ready to take on the rival Detroit Lions to open the 2025 season.

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How will the Packers defend the run with an undersized Edge in Parsons and no established nose tackle?

Peter Bukowski: The short answer might be “Who cares?” The long answer is Parsons brings so much as a pass rusher that he can offset whatever deficiencies he has playing the run. This is like worrying about Deion Sanders or Darrelle Revis as tacklers. It’s not what you’re paying them to do.

And Parsons isn’t just a third-down specialist that way. He’s by far the most disruptive pass rusher in the NFL on early downs. Why bring this up? Early downs are when teams are more likely to run the ball. In other words, Parsons is incredibly valuable on early downs, even accounting for the run defense, precisely because if teams do decide to pass, he’s the best in the NFL at creating problems.

(Graphic via ESPN’s Ben Solak)

There’s also a way to mitigate the size question with Parsons that the Packers have already set in motion. Jeff Hafley played base defense nearly 27% of the time last year, and we saw him carry over that tendency to the preseason, walking up a third off-ball linebacker to the line of scrimmage.

Parsons came to the NFL as an off-ball linebacker from Penn State, and started his career there with the Cowboys. Once they realized how special he was rushing the passer, Dallas moved him full-time to the edge, but he still reads the game well and can run-and-chase like an off-ball linebacker.

Don’t be surprised to see the Packers his him with four other true defensive line bodies as a 4-3 SAM linebacker. This is also something Von Miller did early in his career with the Denver Broncos as an undersized edge defender. They still have to be the force player on the edge in the run game, but if it is a pass, the formation creates a one-on-one opportunity with a five-man defensive front.

Hafley experimented with odd front looks in training camp as well, playing a more traditional 3-4 look as “base” to get five big bodies on the field.

Parsons would similarly benefit from four other “big” bodies on the field here with three true interior defenders and another stand-up edge player. For the Packers in particular, that protects Parsons because Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness are mammoths. Teams could choose to run regularly at Parsons, but becoming predictable only makes it easier for Jeff Hafley to adjust, rolling a safety like Evan Williams down into the box to help with Edgerrin Cooper and Quay Walker ready to rally to the ball behind.

Hafley could even use Parsons off the ball as a more traditional linebacker because of his background playing stacked.

Speaking of, who exactly is going to replace Kenny Clark?

PB: Believe it or not, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden each took snaps at nose tackle last year. That move was more about protecting Clark and allowing him to play more three-technique, but this was a top-10 run defense last year by DVOA even in the least productive season of Kenny Clark’s career.

Gary led the NFL in ESPN’s Run Stop Win Rate among defensive ends, and T.J. Slaton led all defensive tackles. Slaton, though, now plays in Cincinnati, leaving the Packers to rely on rookies Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson much more.

According to Brian Gutekunst, the Packers had the framework of a deal in place on Wednesday, which likely means the team knew on Tuesday (cutdown day) they’d need to keep extra bodies if they moved Clark in the deal.

Six defensive tackles came as a surprise to many, though Stackhouse and Brinson each got reps with the starters at times during training camp. Those reps came well before any trade conversations would have taken place in earnest, meaning the former Georgia duo had to earn them with their play on the field.

“He's done a really nice job," LaFleur said of Stackhouse in early August. “He’s earning more and more opportunities. I think at some point we're going to have to see him in there against the ones.”

We did, and Stackhouse, by all accounts, was more impressive in practice than in the preseason, where he struggled to show off the same level of play. Don’t look at this Pro Football Focus grade if you want assurances Green Bay can weather the loss of Clark, because they include two games with grades below 50 and one below 40 (yikes!).

Brinson, on the other hand, is built more like a traditional five-technique at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds with long arms. He’s the ideal candidate to see more playing time if the Packers do commit to playing some of their old-school odd fronts with three true defensive tackles.

He would play five-technique, Devonte Wyatt is a tailor-made three-tech, and they’d have to ham-and-egg it at nose tackle. Putting three guys all at 300+ pounds may be the only way to get consistent run defense early on because there doesn’t appear to be a player ready to fill the estimable shoes of Clark.

Last year, Hafley played more single-high coverage than Joe Barry, more base, and had better run-fitting linebackers. Edgerrin Cooper may have to do more with less, though he played last year when Clark played his worst season as a pro. Is there really much of a difference between the version of Clark from 2024 and the 2025 version of whoever is taking that spot at the time?

What’s the best plan for Parsons coming off no training camp or preseason?

PB: In a word, patience. That was the tone from everyone we’ve heard from so far, from Gutekunst to Parsons himself.

“Certainly, I think we’re hopeful that he’ll help us in some form or fashion in the opener, but I do think it’s on us to be smart and make sure that he’s ready to go,” Gutekunst said at his press conference about the trade.

Finding the balance will start with seeing him on the field to assess his status. Green Bay had the weekend off, and Parsons arrived via private jet on Friday afternoon.

“I think more than anything, we’ve got to get him here, we’ve got to see where he’s at,” LaFleur.

“I don’t believe he’s practiced, so we’ve got to be very calculated with how we deploy him and just the number of snaps that he’s going to get.”

The same studies that support LaFleur’s point about playing starters in the preseason pertain to the Parsons situation. Guys have to ramp up to play heavy reps. Going from zero to 60 reps in a game would drastically increase the risk of injury.

In other words, the Packers can’t be so excited to use their new All-Pro and so desperate to beat the Lions that they risk their longer-term outlook for the 2025 season.

For his part, Parsons says he’s ready to rock.

“They didn’t give up what they gave up for me to sit on the sidelines and make this big of a risk and change for me to do that, so I’m going to give them my all,” Parsons said on Friday.

Parsons says the back injury he was “dealing” with in Dallas is behind him, and he’s going to work with the team doctors to figure out what his workload will look like.

“I think I can contribute a lot. I’m going to team up with the doctors in creating a plan. We already talked about how we can ramp things up and get me into a flow where they feel comfortable and I feel comfortable.”

LaFleur has also famously thrown snap limits out the window for his frontline players in the past, and it wouldn’t be surprising for Green Bay to hope for a Khalil Mack-like entrance to his time with the Packers. After all, Mack was awesome, and the good guys won.