Last January, a month after Packers outside linebacker Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL, the five-time Pro Bowler expressed hope he would make his 2026 debut in Week 3 or 4. That would have meant returning in late September or the first week of October, but it is now clear Parsons will not make it back that early.
Speaking with Ryan Wood of USA Today and other reporters Wednesday, Parsons revealed he underwent a meniscus cleanup in addition to ACL surgery. Parsons added he will not consider coming back until he is at least nine months removed from the injury, which would point to a mid-October return in a best-case scenario. Speculatively, that could mean a Week 6 debut on Sunday, Oct. 18. The Packers happen to play Parsons’ former team, the Cowboys, in prime time that night.
The Cowboys and Parsons were unable to resolve a contract dispute last summer, leading to a late-August blockbuster trade with the Packers. The Cowboys parted with Parsons for two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark, and Green Bay immediately handed the superstar a four-year, $188MM extension with $136MM guaranteed. Parsons lived up to the billing in his first 14 games as a Packer, during which he recorded 12.5 sacks and became the first player with a dozen-plus in each of his first five seasons. He also chipped in 79 pressures, 26 QB hits, 12 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
Parsons went down in a Week 15 loss to Denver, where the Packers’ season began to unravel. After dropping the Broncos game, they lost out to finish 9-7-1. While the Packers still held on for a wild-card berth and jumped out to a 21-3 halftime lead over the archrival Bears, they collapsed in the second half in a 31-27 loss. Their Parsons-less defense managed just one sack against quarterback Caleb Williams.
With Parsons likely to spend the first several weeks of 2026 on the reserve/PUP list, the Packers will have to lean on other edge defenders such as Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox and fourth-round rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton. The Packers still have around $25.80MM in cap space, giving them room for at least one noteworthy pass-rushing addition if they want to go that route. Cameron Jordan, Joey Bosa, Von Miller, Jadeveon Clowney, Leonard Floyd, Haason Reddick and Kyle Van Noy are among the established edge players still available in free agency.
No need to rush him back and have him be half effective. The team needs to make a move for a veteran pass rusher to play while he is out and just in case LVN continues to be a bust.
That’s pretty wishful thinking on his part.
Would be a great place for a career comeback from Reddick. Hasnt been the same player since leaving the Eagles. Does he still want to play?
This is going to be a pretty pedantic comment, so apologies to the columnist. But still…
Since the context of this article is Parsons and, by extension, the Packers defensive performance with and without him on the field, it’s not really accurate nor fair to lay the wilcard collapse at the feet of the defense. Packers defense were dominant through the first three quarters, holding the Bears offense to under 200 yards. It was the Packers offense that collapsed, with questionable coaching/playcalling from Lafleur and costly on-field mistakes by Love. They couldn’t stay on the field long enough to give the defense a blow to recover themselves, so the defense was pretty exhausted by the time the 4th quarter started.
Having Parsons definitely would’ve helped, but it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. Caleb Williams is a 4th quarter magician, and the team knows it and rises to the occasion with Caleb under center. Keep in mind, even though the Packers defense gave up a ton of 4th quarter points, it’s not like they stopped getting pressure on Caleb. That amazing 4th & 8 pass he made to save the Bears season had a Packers defender hanging on his leg. The Packers D just didn’t have the strength or the legs to contain Williams in the pocket or hang with Bears receivers, tight ends, and RBs. That was just one of those games where a star player takes over and wills their team to finish on top.
Heh, games plural actually. Just recalled that magical OT win the Bears had over the Packers just a few weeks earlier.