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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 last December — to be 100 percent.
How close is he to the exact status?
Parsons revealed to reporters on Wednesday that he is at least four months away from returning to the game, 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 Wednesday.
If Parsons is on the PUP list, he will 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 an extended period of time, he could miss a key division tilt against the Chicago Bears in Week 5 and a possible rematch against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6.
Before tearing his ACL, Parsons totaled 12.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and 41 combined tackles over 14 games in 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 acquire Parsons and extend him to $186 million last August.
Micah Parsons could miss facing his former team, the Cowboys, if he is on the PUP list for more than four weeks. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
A Pro Bowler in each of his five seasons in the NFL (2021-25), Parsons has recorded more than 12 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 was eventually in an “extremely good” headspace. Parsons also made a big proclamation in that conversation.
“Everybody’s probably going to say, ‘Did this guy even get hurt?’ 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 (36th sacks). 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 No. 14 in his latest power rankings, placing them in Tier 4 of his competitor tier.
The Packers were eliminated by the Bears in the NFC wild-card round last season, marking the second straight year they were sent home in the opening round. They lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round the previous season (2024).
