With just under one week until the season kicks off, the Minnesota Vikings have a right to be optimistic. They are coming off a 14-3 season led by Sam Darnold. They upgraded their flaws and turned the keys over to J.J. McCarthy. Outside of the existential dread that exists among Vikings fans, few things could dampen their excitement for the upcoming year…until the Green Bay Packers traded for Micah Parsons.
Younger fans may have to Google who Reggie White is, but older ones likely still have PTSD from the legendary pass rusher throwing Cris Carter at Warren Moon with one arm back in the ’90s. Adding an All-Pro pass rusher to an already difficult division would have been terrifying no matter which team made the move. But because it’s the Packers, Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst may have flown in on a giant bottle of Spotted Cow and taunted Kevin O’Connell, screaming, “I’ll get you my pretty, and your little quarterback too!”
While millions of Wisconsinites cracked Miller Lites to celebrate the move, there’s still a fact Vikings fans can take solace in with Parsons in the division. The Packers are a desperate team, and they’re run by a brain trust that’s trying to save their jobs.
Vikings fans know what this is like. While the beginning of the Mike Zimmer era started great, things were flipped upside down when Teddy Bridgewater injured his knee in September 2016. After previously whiffing on Christian Ponder with the Vikings and choosing Daunte Culpepper’s shredded knee over Drew Brees‘ mangled shoulder during his time with the Miami Dolphins, Rick Spielman gambled on Kirk Cousins, signing him to a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract.
The move had red flags all over it, including a coach who wanted to use that money to keep his defense intact and a quarterback who was largely dependent on his surroundings for success. The shotgun wedding sent the Vikings into the “Kirk Cousins Vortex,” where moves were made with the focus of saving their jobs instead of the long-term interest of the team.
Compare this with the last 24 months for the Packers. After a three-year runway, Jordan Love took off with a successful first season as a starter. The problem was the Packers lit his rookie quarterback window on fire and had to give him a four-year, $220 million contract with $160.3 million guaranteed after 18 starts.
The Packers would tell you they could afford that contract because they are one of the youngest teams in the NFL. They would also point to their 11 wins last season as a reason the arrow is pointing up. However, they wouldn’t tell you they beat one playoff team last season or that they were a blocked field goal in Chicago away from going 0-6 in the division.
But, other than that, they’re right there.
That frame of mind led to an unusually aggressive offseason for the Packers. They were connected to D.K. Metcalf to solve their search for a wide receiver back in March before drafting Matthew Golden in April. Golden was the team’s first-round receiver since the Packers took Javon Walker in the 2002 draft, and it came on the heels of two expensive free-agent signings: offensive guard Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs.
Green Bay’s moves may have been considered a surprise for a team that treats free agency like a small-market baseball team. But it shouldn’t have been shocking, as Packers CEO and President Mark Murphy was retiring. With Ed Policy taking over, there was a new boss to impress, and The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman suggested that Gutenkunst and LaFleur could be on the hot seat if they didn’t win in 2025.
“I spoke to someone recently and was told [Policy] is truly up in the air about the futures of Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst,” Schneidman said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “If the Packers don’t make the playoffs this year, which I don’t think happens, but is a possibility, I could certainly see Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst, and I don’t think this is hyperbole, both getting fired after this year. … He would like to make a decision one way or another this season.”
Roughly 24 hours later, Parsons was in Green Bay. It appeared that the Packers had fleeced the Dallas Cowboys, because they only received defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. However, there may have been a reason why Dallas was opposed to paying Parsons.
With two top-of-the-market deals for CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, adding a third would have severely restricted the Cowboys’ ability to build a complete roster. While there’s an argument that they should have paid Parsons, they can use that money elsewhere and now have two first-round picks to add to their infrastructure.
If anything, the Packers have entered the same universe that Dallas has been inhabiting for the past couple of seasons. Love has cap numbers of $29.6 million and $36.1 million over the next two years before jumping to $44 million in 2027. Parsons has favorable cap hits in 2026 ($19.2 million) and 2027 ($26.8 million), but that number jumps to $64.2 million in 2028.
Of course, this wouldn’t matter if the Packers were “one Parsons away.” However, Parsons and the rest of their additions enhance areas that were already strong during their 11-6 campaign.
The Packers were sixth in total defense and tied for eighth in sacks last season. While Parsons should help them gain more consistency in their pass rush, those numbers weren’t enough to defeat playoff teams or anybody in the NFC North outside of the Chicago Bears a year ago.
The addition of Banks also bolstered an offensive line that finished sixth in Pro Football Focus’ offensive line rankings a year ago. While this is a solid investment, Banks was an average guard. PFF ranked him 33rd out of 77 qualifiers with the San Francisco 49ers last season.
The Packers are also hoping Golden is the next Justin Jefferson ahead of a receiver room that features Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed. While some would believe each is on the verge of a breakout, they posted two of the highest drop rates in the NFL last season at 18% and 14.5%. Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, and rookie Savion Williams are also wild cards, leaving Love with plenty of unknowns in the passing game.
Speaking of Love, we’re still not sure what he is. Although he’s shown potential at times, he’s also had Cousins-like tendencies, filled with blistering hot performances during Toyotathon followed by mind-blowing mental lapses. While injuries were the culprit last year, more questions will come up if he shows the same inconsistencies while making an average of $55 million per season.
Of course, adding Parsons could make life easier, and there’s a chance he becomes a game-wrecker that flips the division upside down. However, this is a regime that was seeking its own lifeline in the same way that Spielman and Zimmer were in the early 2020s, and could create a Micah Parsons vortex that leaves Vikings fans a little more optimistic when the trade was announced.
