Realistically, if the Green Bay Packers are going to be legitimate NFC contenders next season, they need star pass-rusher Micah Parsons — who tore his ACL in December of last season — to be at 100 percent.
How close is he to that precise status?
Parsons revealed to reporters on Wednesday that he’s at least four months away from returning to play, via ESPN. That likely means he would begin the 2026 NFL season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, ruling him out for the first four games of the year.
“The goal for me is to complete the season … the goal has always been [to be healthy for the] playoffs,” Parsons told reporters on Wednesday.
If Parsons is on the PUP list, he’ll be out for the Packers’ games against the Minnesota Vikings (Week 1), New York Jets (Week 2), Atlanta Falcons (Week 3) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 4). If Parsons is out for any additional time, he could miss an important divisional tilt against the Chicago Bears in Week 5 and a possible revenge game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6.
Prior to tearing his ACL, Parsons totaled 12.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and 41 combined tackles over 14 games in what was his debut season with the Packers, who traded defensive tackle and three-time Pro Bowler Kenny Clark and two first-round picks to the Cowboys to attain Parsons and sign him to a four-year, $186 million extension last August.
Micah Parsons could miss facing his former team, the Cowboys, if he’s on the PUP list for longer than four weeks. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Parsons, a Pro Bowler in each of his five seasons in the NFL (2021-25), has logged 12-plus sacks in each of his first five seasons in the sport and earned his third career All-Pro honor in 2025.
Two months after tearing his ACL, Parsons told our Ben Arthur that he initially felt like “super nothing” after suffering the injury. However, Parsons said he eventually found himself in an “extremely good” headspace. Parsons also made a big proclamation in that conversation.
“Everyone will probably say, ‘Was this guy even injured?’ I’m going to hit the ground running and be the best player on the field,” Parsons told Arthur.
As for Green Bay’s defense last season, it ranked 11th in points allowed (21.2 per game), 12th in passing yards allowed (194.1 per game), 12th in yards allowed (311.8 per game), 18th in rushing yards allowed (117.7 per game) and tied for 20th in sacks (36.0). But the Packers lost defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who left to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, and traded edge rusher Rashan Gary to the Cowboys.
Prior to Wednesday’s news, our Ralph Vacchiano had the Packers ranked 14th in his most recent power rankings and placed them in Tier 4 of his contender tiers.
The Packers were eliminated by the Bears in the NFC wild-card round last season, marking the second consecutive year that they were sent home in the opening round. They lost to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round the season prior (2024).
