Packers' Micah Parsons unsure when
he'll return from torn ACL in his left knee
[August 05, 2026]
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay's Micah Parsons doesn't know
exactly when he will be cleared to play in an NFL game this season,
but the All-Pro edge rusher is warning opponents to be ready for him
to unleash the frustration that's built while he's been sidelined.
Speaking with reporters for the first time since the Packers opened
training camp last week, Parsons made his motivation very clear
Tuesday. Parsons is on the physically unable to perform list as he
works his way back from the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his
left knee that ended his first season with the Packers.
“I think people are worried about, you know, if I come back. I just
feel like people should just be worried about how I’m going to be
when I come back,” Parsons said. “Like, people are worried about the
knee. They should be worried about how I’m going to play when I get
back. The anger, the frustration, the things that I’m going to have
to let out because of how long it’s been since I played.”
Parsons recorded 12 1/2 sacks in his first 13 games with the Packers
after the blockbuster trade that brought him to Green Bay from
Dallas in late August. But after he went down during a Dec. 14 loss
at Denver, the Packers never won another game.
Green Bay’s season ended with a 31-27 los s to the rival Chicago
Bears in the NFC wild card playoffs, a game in which the Packers
surrendered 25 fourth-quarter points after building a 21-3 halftime
lead.
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Parsons underwent surgery on Dec. 29 to repair the
ACL and damage to the meniscus, and doctors gave him a strict
nine-month “no football” directive, meaning the first time he could
do anything football related would be on Sept. 29, after the
Packers’ first two games of the regular season.
He is expected to start the season on the PUP list,
which means he can start practicing after missing two games but
won't be eligible to play until after missing four games.
The Packers’ Week 5 game is on Oct. 11 at home
against the Bears, who lost to the Packers while Parsons was healthy
but beat them late in the regular season and again in the playoffs
after Parsons went down.
The following week, the Packers face the Cowboys at Lambeau Field on
Oct. 18. And Parsons — while refusing to commit to any sort of
timeline — acknowledged he’d like to be back to face his old team.
“I think it’s very realistic,” Parsons said. “Me and the (medical)
staff, we’ve got to get to the point where I’m feeling great and we
say, ‘Micah, you’ll be in a really good phase.’
“Is it possible? Yes. I wouldn’t say it’s not possible. But, at the
same time, in these next 10, 12 weeks from now on, we’ve got to do
our part to make it possible. It’s not off the board, but we’ve got
to put the work in.”
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