Kenny Clark is stoked for his reunion, same as Micah Parsons after Cowboys-Packers trade

The emotional investment was immense for a man drafted by the Packers late in the first round nine years ago, and his family's reaction to the trade reflected it. Dallas also acquired two first-round picks in the deal.

“They took it a lot harder than I did,” Clark said in a conference call with Green Bay reporters Thursday. “I just had to explain to them, everybody at some point gets this call, whether it’s you’re getting cut, you’re getting traded or whatever the case may be.”

With the Packers (2-1) set to visit Dallas (1-2) on Sunday night, the Clark family has come to accept the trade. The move into a new house is just about complete, while Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and company made a positive impression on Clark's crew.

Now it's time for Clark to line up against a team he went to the Pro Bowl with three times, along with six trips to the playoffs.

It's been so long, the Green Bay coach when Clark was drafted — Mike McCarthy — was out of the league for a season and a half after getting fired by the Packers, then spent five years as coach of the Cowboys before the stunning deal that brought Clark down south as well.

“I know it’ll be weird,” said Clark, who turns 30 next week. “You’re going to see them yellow helmets and, ‘Damn, I was just over there,’ you know what I’m saying? Seeing all the guys in warmups and all that kind of stuff is going to be weird, but once that whistle blows and you get your hands on the first guy, whoever you hit first, all that kind of stuff, you run to that ball, it’s going to be football.”

There is one problem.

Clark presumably will have only one game-worn jersey, unless maybe he wants to put on a new one every quarter. Or maybe he can just cut the one he wears into pieces. He's got buddies on the other sideline who will want that jersey.

There's Rashan Gary, the NFL sacks leader right now at 4 1/2 since opponents are spending so much time worrying about Parsons, who has 1 1/2. Or Colby Wooden, a third-year pro who counts more as a Clark pupil compared to the 27-year-old Gary.

“I know RG had asked me the first day I got traded, and then Colby called me the other day and was talking me up about it,” Clark said. “If I could get a jersey to all of them, I would. It’s going to be interesting. I’ll probably get it to RG or something, the oldest guy.”

Then again, maybe Clark and Parsons should swap jerseys, just to have a little fun. They did talk stadium suites, since Parsons still has one at AT&T Stadium and both have had to make sure they'll have plenty of seats for family and friends.

“I thought he wanted my suite,” Clark said. “From my understanding, when he texted me, I thought he wanted mine. I was like, ‘You just gotta hit up the guy.’ I just hit up the guys here for a suite, so ...”

The Packers and Cowboys will play exactly a month after the trade. That's after Clark played a game for the Cowboys exactly a week after changing cities.

Sounds like a whirlwind. And yet ...

“It’s been a long time coming,” Clark said of facing his former team. “It’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about since I got traded here. I’m psyched, bro, now that I got it.”

It doesn't matter much to Clark whether his reunion is getting any attention.

AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee contributed to this report.

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