Rashan Gary Trade Grades: Cowboys Bolster Lackluster Defense

Dallas, TX — For the second straight spring, the Green Bay-to-Dallas pipeline has delivered an edge rusher, and this time the price tag is a fraction of last year’s blockbuster. On Monday morning the Packers agreed to ship Rashan Gary to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick, a deal that becomes official when the new league year opens at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday.

The transaction continues a stunning sequence of moves between the two franchises. Twelve months ago Dallas sent All-Pro Micah Parsons to Green Bay for two first-round selections and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Now Gary—Green Bay’s 2019 first-round choice—heads south after seven seasons that produced 46.5 sacks and one Pro Bowl nod in 2024. By moving him before the start of the 2026 league year, the Packers clear $10.98 million in cap space and avoid losing him for nothing.

Green Bay’s front office now pivots to a pass-rush room headlined by the rehabbing Parsons, who tore an ACL last December against Denver and could miss the start of the upcoming campaign. Lukas Van Ness, the 2023 first-round pick who has managed only 8.5 sacks through three seasons, suddenly becomes the presumptive every-down edge defender.

Dallas, meanwhile, adds Gary to a defensive line already upgraded by the earlier acquisition of Quinnen Williams. The Cowboys finished 30th in yards allowed and dead-last in points surrendered last season, prompting a comprehensive overhaul. While Gary has never reached double-digit sacks in a season and will play the bulk of his age-28 and age-29 campaigns in Texas, the Cowboys are betting that increased usage—he hasn’t topped 70 percent of defensive snaps since 2022—can coax more production from the former Michigan standout.

Financially, Dallas inherits base salaries of $18 million in 2026 and $21 million in 2027, none of which is guaranteed. The structure effectively places Gary on consecutive one-year prove-it deals unless the club elects to extend or restructure the contract.

Green Bay receives modest draft capital for a player who appeared ticketed for free agency; Dallas lands a proven, if not elite, pass rusher to a unit desperate for impact defenders. In a swap of low-risk, potentially moderate-reward, both teams exit the negotiation table with clear—if divergent—objectives achieved.