FRISCO, Texas — Before this week’s trade between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys became official, Rashan Gary and Micah Parsons traded text messages.
The edge rushers were teammates last year after Parsons was dealt from the Cowboys to the Packers the week before the season started. Now in the first week of the 2026 league year, Gary was dealt to Dallas.
“I don’t look at it as trading places or things like that, I’m just coming here to be me and be the impact that the Cowboys need,” Gary said Thursday during a conference call.
While they play similar positions, they are different players. If Gary has a comparison to a former Cowboys edge player, it’s more DeMarcus Lawrence than Parsons.
“In terms of the run, I’m one of the best in the league,” Gary said. “I feel like anything that I need to do in terms of setting the edge, knocking things back, trying to keep things under control, being able to two-gap — just being able to be the anchor that I am — that’s what I’m going to bring, just being as effective as I can be.”
In seven years with the Packers, Gary, who was acquired for a 2027 fourth-round pick, recorded 46.5 sacks. He has recorded at least six sacks in each of the past five seasons, topping out at 9.5 in 2021. In each of the past two seasons, he recorded 7.5 sacks, although in 2025 all of his sacks came in the first seven games.
“Football is football,” Gary said. “At that time, we were playing meaningful games, so when you’re playing meaningful games, it really doesn’t come down to stats. It’s really about how you affect offenses.”
Under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, who was a Packers quality control coach when Gary was a rookie in 2019, Gary will play outside linebacker and move around in the Cowboys’ multiple fronts.
He will also reunite with defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who was part of the Parsons trade. He believes their pairing can be “infectious” to the rest of the defense.
“KC is my dog,” Gary said. “I’ve been in Green Bay seven years; I’ve been with KC all of them seven. He’s watched me mature as a man, mature as a player and also gave me key pointers on the way up.”
When the trade was complete, he called Clark and said, “It’s an honor and a privilege to get back to play with you.”
Before the conference call began, Gary said the same about playing for the Cowboys.
“Man, the main thing for me, come in, play good ball and play good ball to the point that we’re playing meaningful games and playing for some trophies and playing for some hats and T-shirts,” Gary said. “That’s my goal. Being able to play [for those things] in Green Bay early in my career, I’ve been able to experience that feeling, and I’ve been chasing it ever since.
“Being able to add the hunger from Green Bay to be able to now refuel it being a Dallas Cowboy, there’s nothing better.”
