After Micah Parsons was traded, reports emerged that the Philadelphia Eagles had called the Dallas Cowboys to try to acquire him, but the Green Bay Packers ultimately acquired Parsons.
It never seemed like the Eagles were real players as the Cowboys made a crazy offer to Philly if they wanted Parsons, but the final offer was never really revealed. While speaking on Bleacher Report, Parsons revealed to Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young how a trade to Philly almost happened, but one thing would have held Parsons back from going to the Eagles.
"To be honest with you bro, it was very close. It was very close. Eagles, before the Jaelan Phillips, before all of them, it was me. It was me. And I was really about to come, but there was one person I had to play with that if he was gone I did not want to be there and that was Jalen Carter. They wanted a D-tackle and they wanted to trade me plus some picks. I mean I don't really care about the picks, but I'm coming to play next to JC. Sorry Cowboys fan, it almost happened."
Would Eagles fans have been okay trading Jalen Carter and picks for Micah Parsons?
One thing was very clear at the beginning of the 2025 season for the Eagles: there was a lack of a pass rush off the edge, and the defensive tackles dominated. That's why Philly traded for Phillips to help with that, and it certainly did.
Parsons, though, is a game-changer and arguably a top-five defender in the NFL. The Eagles would have killed to have him on the defense, and it would have made a huge difference.
Carter is a two-time Pro Bowl and one of the best tackles in the NFL, but that might have been a deal the Eagles would have been okay with doing. Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo proved during Carter's injury absence that the Eagles can still dominate without him. Other tackles like Byron Young and Ty Robinson would have been able to fill that gap without Carter.
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The Eagles might have made that deal for Parsons, but Philly will never know what that would have looked like and how different the 2025 season might have been.