Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has made Minnesota a haven for defenders looking for a fresh start.
Last year, Flores helped edge rushers Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard reach the first Pro Bowl appearances of their careers. The Vikings blitzed more than any team and clouded their coverage to produce a league-leading 33 turnovers and 24 interceptions and the second-most pressures (180) in the regular season.
The chaos and havoc created by Flores is eye-catching to any defender, including Dallas Cowboys All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons.
Parson, who requested a trade this week due to a contract dispute, spoke on Flores’ defense last year, admitting he wanted to play for the Vikings defensive coordinator.
“I watched Flores over the past couple years, and I remember coming out of my draft interview with him, I was like, ‘This is a guy I want to play for,’ ” Parsons said on his podcast last year. “He’s taking players that are probably looked under and making them play at the highest level. This dude is serious.”
The clip has since resurfaced on social media as Vikings fans are clamoring for the team to strike a deal for the 26-year-old linebacker.
Vikings Trade Pitch for Cowboys’ Micah Parsons
If the Cowboys cannot make amends with Parsons and commit to trading him, the cost would be difficult to grapple with for the Vikings.
Heavy Sports’ Josh Buckhalter likened a potential Parsons deal to the package the Chicago Bears gave up to land Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Khalil Mack.
He suggested the following package could get a deal across the finish line.
Vikings get:
- Micah Parsons
- 2026 second-round pick
- 2026 seventh-round pick
Cowboys get:
- 2026 first-round pick
- 2027 first-round pick
- 2026 third-round pick
- 2026 sixth-round pick
It’s incredibly costly for a Vikings roster that is already stacked at outside linebacker with Greenard, Van Ginkel and 2024 first-round pick Dallas Turner entering his second year.
However, if any coordinator could exploit the embarrassment of riches that a Parson addition would bring, it would be Flores.
“Parsons would be a fascinating chess piece in the Brian Flores defense in Minnesota,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote on August 1. “Parsons is one of the best defensive players in football. He’s on the front end of his prime. Even if the Cowboys aren’t inclined to trade him, teams should be calling.”
Vikings Would Need to Give Up More Than Picks for Parson
Given the cost it would take to re-sign Parsons long-term, a trade would likely have to include a quality starter or two to offload enough cap space to make the deal feasible.
Any of the Vikings’ top three edge rushers would be likely candidates in that deal, which would require multiple high-value picks just to get Parsons on the plane to Minnesota.
From there, a new contract for Parsons would likely lead to further departures to a roster that has seen over a dozen meaningful free-agent additions in the past few years.
If the Vikings had a deeper pool of young talent on rookie contracts, the move could be a plus.
But at this stage of the new regime’s rebuild, the addition of Parsons would take away too many resources from a veteran-heavy roster.
