GREEN BAY, Wis. — Just three months after trading Kenny Clark to Dallas in the blockbuster Micah Parsons deal, the Green Bay Packers are on the verge of pulling off one of the fastest full-circle moves in modern NFL history — all because of one gruesome ankle injury on Thanksgiving night.
Multiple league sources confirmed to The Draft Network that the Packers reached out to Clark’s representatives within hours of Devonte Wyatt suffering a fractured left ankle in Thursday’s 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions. Wyatt, who had emerged as Green Bay’s most disruptive interior rusher this season (4.0 sacks, 7 QB hits, 5 TFL in 12 games), has officially been placed on Injured Reserve and will miss the remainder of the 2025 season.
“When Wyatt went down, the first call Green Bay made was to Kenny,” a source with direct knowledge of the talks said. “The door was never fully closed. Now it’s wide open.”
Clark, 30, was traded to Dallas on August 28, 2025, along with two future first-round picks in exchange for Micah Parsons and lower-round compensation. He has started all 12 games for the 6-5-1 Cowboys this year, posting roughly 34 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and maintaining elite run-defense grades (91.8 PFF entering Week 13).
The proposed reunion is straightforward and built for speed:
- Dallas is willing to send Clark back to Green Bay for minimal compensation — believed to be a 2026 sixth-round pick or less.
- Clark would sign a new short-term deal with the Packers: the remainder of 2025 plus a team option for 2026, heavily incentive-laden with per-game roster bonuses to stay cap-compliant.
- The entire transaction is expected to be finalized before Tuesday’s 4:00 p.m. ET trade deadline (December 2, 2025) so Clark remains playoff-eligible.
Matt LaFleur declined to mention Clark by name during his Friday press conference but left little doubt about the team’s mindset:
“We’re going to exhaust every option to give ourselves the best chance in January. If that means bringing back someone who already knows exactly how we play defense, we’ll do it.”
If that means bringing back someone who already knows exactly how we play defense, we’ll do it.”
For a fan base that was stunned when No. 97 was shipped out in August, the potential return would be pure poetry. Clark spent his first nine seasons in Green Bay, made four Pro Bowls, and was a longtime defensive captain. Now, less than 100 days after saying goodbye, he could be back practicing at 1265 Lombardi Avenue by Wednesday — wearing the same green and gold he thought was gone forever.
As one Packers veteran texted after Thursday’s game: “We just lost our best interior disruptor. Time to bring 97 home.”
In the NFL, sometimes the circle closes a lot faster than anyone expects.
