Cowboys Get Rashan Gary In Trade: Reunite Him With Defensive Coordinator Christian Walker

The Green Bay Packers have traded Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Packers will get the Cowboys’ fourth-round draft pick. This trade will also give the Packers $11 million in cap space.

In 2024, Gary had a career year at defensive end, recording 47 tackles and 9 tackles for loss. In 2025, he was moved to the defensive line. After Week 8, Gary did not record a single tackle for loss.  

The Cowboys’ defensive coordinator is Christian Parker, who was the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive backs coach last season. Although the Cowboys were primarily looking to improve their secondary, any defensive help they can get is welcome. 

Although Parker hasn’t worked as a defensive coordinator before, he’s described his playbook as similar to that of Vic Fangio, the Eagles’ current defensive coordinator. Fangio’s system is built on versatility and clever scheming to disguise the play. In a way, Gary’s pure power game feels like a bit of a mismatch for this system.

That doesn’t mean all hope is lost, though. Fangio helped Jalen Carter turn into a Pro Bowl player in 2024. Carter had 42 tackles and 12 tackles for loss. Carter is similar to Gary in that both players use their pure strength to create plays on defense. 

Parker and Gary worked together with the Packers. Parker was the defensive quality control coach for the Packers during Gary’s first two seasons in 2019 and 2020. As a defensive quality-control coach, Parker spent hours reviewing analytics and tape of the Packers’ defense, including Gary. Even if the scheme isn’t a perfect fit, the deep familiarity with Gary’s game could help integrate him into the defense. Gary is projected to play linebacker for the Cowboys, where he played earlier in his career. 

This trade will officially go through when the new league year starts on March 11.