‘I Was Ecstatic’: Kenny Clark Says He Called Rashan Gary Before Dallas Cowboys Trade

OXNARD, Calif. — Kenny Clark called Rashan Gary as soon as he heard the Green Bay Packers might move him. Clark told his former teammate they needed to get something done in Dallas.

Clark joined “The Hardline” on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket (KTCK-AM) on Aug. 4, during the station’s week of live broadcasts from Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard. He said the Cowboys needed a player who is physical at the point of attack.

“Yeah, that’s one of my best friends,” Clark said. “RG, we’re super close, I was ecstatic when he [got traded to Dallas]. As soon as I heard it was a possibility, Green Bay letting him go or whatever they were gonna do with him, I called him and asked him if this was for real [and said] we need to get something done.”

In March, Green Bay traded Gary to Dallas for a 2027 fourth-round pick. Reports surfaced March 9, and the Packers announced the deal March 11 at the start of the new league year. The move saved Green Bay about $11 million against the 2026 salary cap and left the club with $17 million in dead money.

Gary is under contract through 2027 on the four-year, $96 million extension he signed with the Packers in October 2023. His base salaries are $18 million this season and $21 million next season. Neither figure is guaranteed.

Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary Spent Six Seasons Together in Green Bay

Green Bay drafted Clark 27th overall in 2016 and Gary 12th overall in 2019. They played together for six seasons, from Gary’s rookie year through 2024, and they reached the playoffs five times in that span. Two of those runs ended in the NFC Championship Game, after the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and Green Bay lost both.

The last defense the two played on together, in 2024, finished sixth in the NFL in points allowed. That unit ranked fifth in total defense in Jeff Hafley‘s first season as coordinator.

Clark said Gary will push the players in the defensive line room and hold the rest of the defense accountable.

“I’m happy we got RG, because we needed somebody like that,” Clark explained. “A leader. Somebody that’s physical at the point of attack. Somebody that’s gonna push guys in this room, not just in this room but on the defense too. Just pushing everybody, holding everybody accountable. Just a great leader and a great person, and a great football player.”

Clark has played 157 games in 10 seasons. He has 453 tackles and 38.0 sacks, and he made the Pro Bowl three times in Green Bay, in 2019, 2021, and 2023. Gary has 46.5 sacks, 46 tackles for loss, and 111 quarterback hits in seven seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in 2024. Clark turns 31 on Oct. 4. Gary is 28.

Dallas Cowboys Rebuilt the Defensive Front Around Kenny Clark

Clark came to Dallas on Aug. 28, 2025, when the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons to Green Bay for Clark, a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2027 first-round pick. He started all 17 games last season and finished with 36 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, and 9 quarterback hits. He played 748 defensive snaps, 68% of the team’s total.

Dallas added Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets at the Nov. 4 trade deadline, sending New York defensive tackle Mazi Smith, a 2026 second-round pick, and a 2027 first-round pick. Williams was the only Cowboys defender voted to the Pro Bowl in 2025.

The Cowboys allowed 30.1 points per game last season, the most in the NFL. That is the second-highest figure in the franchise’s 66 seasons, behind the 30.8 points per game the 1960 expansion team gave up. Dallas recorded 35 sacks, tied for the eighth-fewest in the league. The Cowboys ranked 30th in total defense and finished 7-9-1 in Brian Schottenheimer‘s first season as head coach.

Matt Eberflus ran that defense. On Jan. 22, Dallas hired Christian Parker to replace him, and at 34, Parker is the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history. He worked as Green Bay’s defensive quality control coach in 2019 and 2020, which covered Clark and Gary’s first two seasons as teammates. Parker spent the previous two seasons as passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Cowboys restructured Clark’s contract on March 10, turning an $11 million roster bonus into a signing bonus and opening roughly $8.8 million in cap space, Todd Archer of ESPN reported. Clark signed the three-year, $64 million extension underneath that deal with Green Bay in July 2024.

Last season, Gary started 15 of the 16 games he played for the Packers. He finished with 7.5 sacks, 20 quarterback hits, 7 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.

Dallas practices in Oxnard through Aug. 13. The Cowboys hold a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 11 in Woodland Hills, California. The preseason opener comes Saturday at Lumen Field against the Seattle Seahawks, with kickoff at 7 p.m. CT.