Former Packers DT Kenny Clark was shocked, then appreciative of Cowboys trading for him in Micah Parsons deal

Micah Parsons was on the move Thursday in one of the NFL's most surprising trades, but so was Kenny Clark, a three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle the Dallas Cowboys are betting on to make a difference in the team's run-stopping department this season.

A summerlong contract standoff between Parsons and Cowboys longtime owner and general manager Jerry Jones abruptly came to a head, and the premier edge rusher was dealt to the Packers in exchange for a pair of first-round picks and Clark.

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"I was shocked," Clark said, via Cowboys' official site, "but once Jerry and all those guys called me, Schotty (head coach Brian Schottenheimer) and everybody, I just felt wanted. It's a blessing.

"I'm appreciative of it."

Clark played his first nine NFL seasons with the Packers, who selected him No. 27 overall in the 2016 draft. Before that, the Southern California native was an all-conference player at UCLA.

Since entering the league, the 6-foot-3, 314-pound Clark has been available for at least 13 games a year. He's appeared in 11 playoff games and piled up 417 total tackles, including 51 TFLs and 35 sacks, during his regular-season career.

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Last year, Clark registered a 4% run stuff rate, the highest of his career, during which he's notched an 11.1% run stop rate, according to Cowboys reporter Tommy Yarrish.

Jones explained Thursday that he and the Cowboys' front office were looking for a top-tier defensive tackle who could help Dallas bounce back from allowing the fourth-most rushing yards in the league last season. The Cowboys' search was limited to teams that could afford to pay Parsons record-breaking money.

"The frustration is that we haven't been able to win the big game in the playoffs, and we think it is a direct connection to not being able to stop the run," said Stephen Jones, Jerry's eldest son and right-hand man.

"We think Kenny Clark's going to be a big piece to that, and we felt like because of our depth on the edge, as well as the ability to scheme pressure, that we could make up for Micah."

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Clark has less than a week to prepare for his first, and possibly biggest, test: the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, who trailed only the Baltimore Ravens in 2024 with 179.3 rushing yards per game. In two outings against the Cowboys last season, the Eagles averaged 183 yards on the ground.

Clark is amped to establish himself, as well as chemistry with his new teammates, including fellow UCLA product Osa Odighizuwa, the younger brother of Clark's old Bruins teammate, Owa Odighizuwa.

Together, Clark and Osa Odighizuwa make up the front line of Dallas' defensive interior.

"No nonsense, you're going to get a dawg, somebody that's just all about football," Clark said, via the team site. "I'm here to ball. I'm here to be my best self. I feel like when I'm my best self, there's nobody messing with me. That's what I bring to the table.

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"I'm here to play my ass off."

Clark is the only current player the Cowboys received in their blockbuster trade. The team's other returns on the deal will be determined in the next couple drafts.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old defensive tackle will soon be scrutinized more than he ever has been before now that he's part of a deal Jerry Jones compared to the one the Cowboys built their last dynasty on.

Clark's focusing on the positives.

"It's a historic franchise. I wouldn't want no other thing other than to be sitting here," Clark said, per the team site.

"I've got a chance to win a Super Bowl here, and that's all I could ask for. That's what I want to do. I want to bring a Super Bowl back to the Cowboys."