On Thursday, Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark likely received a phone call and learned he was the other side of the biggest trade in recent NFL history.
In exchange for Clark and two first-round picks, the Packers received Micah Parsons, a generational pass-rusher who figures to anchor their defense for years to come. It's a move leaves questions for the Cowboys that go beyond the field of play, most notably surrounding the decision-making of owner/general manager Jerry Jones.
Those questions should be answered in time, but for now, the Cowboys have a new defensive lineman. At 314 pounds, Clark is not a 1-to-1 replacement for Parsons, a faster edge-rusher, but he will still face plenty of responsibilities — and scrutiny — in the middle of the Dallas defense.
Kenny Clark, a former first-round pick who stuck in Green Bay
A Southern California native and an all-conference player at UCLA, Clark was sent to north to Wisconsin in the 2016 NFL Draft, with the Packers selecting him 27th overall.
Since then, he has been as solid as they come for the Green Bay defense, playing at least 13 games in every season of his nine-year career and not missing a game since Week 15 of the 2021 season. Over that time he has earned three Pro Bowl nods while accruing 417 career total tackles.
Clark also brings 11 games of playoff experience to the table. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said he will be missed:
“We want to thank Kenny for the incredible impact he made in the locker room, on the field and in the community during his nine seasons in Green Bay. From the time he arrived in 2016, Kenny established himself as one of the top defensive tackles in the league and in the history of this franchise with his production, durability and leadership. He had the respect of everyone in the organization and epitomized what it meant to be a Green Bay Packer. Kenny will be greatly missed, and we wish him and his family nothing but the best in the future."
Clark is particularly known for stopping the run, which is pretty much why he's on his way to Dallas.
Jerry Jones has high hopes for Kenny Clark
As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended the Parsons trade to reporters for more than 45 minutes on Thursday, he made quite clear he believes that Clark can make the team even better in the short term than it would have been with Parsons on the field.
"We did think it was in the best interest of our organization — not only the future, but right now, this season as well. We've gained a Pro Bowl player in an area that we had big concerns in, the inside of our defense.
“The facts are, specifically, we need to stop the run. We haven’t been able to stop the run at key times for several years."
Jones added that the team was looking into adding a run-stopping defensive tackle in the vein of Clark in the spring, while his son Stephen Jones said the team believes Clark's contributions to the run game can outweigh the loss of Parsons' pass-rushing:
"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. 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."
We'll see if that works out for him. Pro Football Focus ranked Clark as the No. 43 run defender among 114 interior defensive lineman last season and No. 53 overall. He turns 30 years old on Oct. 4.
Kenny Clark will be making some decent money in the next couple seasons
At 29 years old, Clark has already made more than $100 million playing for the Packers. He'll be adding to that number considerably with the Cowboys, as his contract — three years, $64 million starting this season — comes with cap numbers of $21.5 million in 2026 and $20 million in 2027.
He has a manageable number for this year, though, with only $3 million.
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