Micah Parsons Won't Rush His Return
Micah Parsons is not going to rush back from his injury — he'll return when he's ready.
The standout pass rusher was having a tremendous season in his first year with the Green Bay Packers, posting a team-leading 12.5 sacks in 14 games. However, Parsons suffered a serious season-ending torn ACL injury in the Packers' regular season game against the Denver Broncos in December.
That type of injury is normally a near year-long recovery, with some timetables projecting Parsons to return in Week 3 or Week 4 of the 2026 season. When asked if he's aiming to return for the season opener in September, Parsons said it depends as he's still early in the phase process for his recovery.
Parsons said he just learned how to walk again and will soon be learning how to run again.
"Man, it really just depends, it really just depends," said Parsons in a one-on-one interview. "I had a pretty severe injury, it just depends on how each phase goes for me. But I would say, I do feel as if I'm ahead or on track to be there earlier in the season. It's just hard to really pinpoint where or how each phase is going to go. The first three months went good, but I gotta learn how to run again soon. I just finished learning how to walk again, so it's just one of those things."
Despite Parsons' season ending early, the 26-year-old once again solidified why he's one of the best pass rushers in the game in his first season with the Packers. Parsons posted his third First-team All-Pro selection and his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl selection.
The Packers made it to the playoffs, but it's worth noting that they lost their final five games in the absence of Parsons, including their playoff loss to the Chicago Bears. Green Bay blew an 18-point halftime lead against Chicago.
Prior to Parsons' injury against the Broncos, Green Bay had gone 9-3-1 and were among the elite teams in the NFC.
When asked if he would have changed the end result against the Packers' rivals, the Bears, in their playoff game, Parsons said he "believes so." Green Bay also blew a 10-point lead against Chicago in their regular season game in December.
"I like to believe so," said Parsons. "It's easy to say that, and kind of have controversy over if so and so played, I think my team could have won, regardless if I was out there or not. But I definitely feel like we could have won. I won when I was in Green Bay, so I don't see why I can't pull out another one out of two of those games. Besides I always have a rule that if my quarterback puts up 21 points, you're probably gonna win the football game."
One thing Parsons is definitely for sure on is that he wants to win Defensive Player of the Year. Parsons interviewed two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett shortly after he won his award in February as part of his podcast with Bleacher Report.
That's the one thing missing from Parsons' resume is the Defensive Player of the Year award.
"Yeah, 100%, 100%, 100% — no doubt about it," said Parsons.
Parsons acknowledged that he wants to get back to playing at a high level off the bat, but he still has to go through the rehab process and the adjustment process when it comes to returning from the most serious injury of his career.
"Yeah, there's always that factor that I think that's kind of where the abilities are in place, because it's like I gotta get back to the field, that's hard," said Parsons. "And then I gotta get back to performing at a high level. You gotta know what that looks like, what it feels like, and from where I'm at right now, I gotta see how that is. That's the humility aspect. But of course, that's what you want."
He said overall he's feeling "good" and he's exactly where he's supposed to be three months out from the ACL injury.
"Yeah, I'm feeling good, man," said Parsons. "Each day has its own strides and strengths to improve and get better. But for anyone that's about three months out of ACL, I'm about exactly where I should be, and I'm just happy I'm getting stronger and better."
Parsons acknowledges that the toughest thing from the injury is probably the mental aspect. NBA stars such as Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard have gone through or are going through the rehab process of Achilles tears, serious injuries that are similar to Parsons.
All three have acknowledged that the most difficult part of it is the mental aspect and being away from the camaraderie of their teammates.
"Mentally a little bit, just because you know the frustration, you know you're not where you want to be, you're missing out on a lot of fun," said Parsons.
"Your mind is other places, you want to be other places doing what everyone else is doing. But I think there's a beauty and a reward in the process of it, so I guess it just depends on how you look at it. If you look at it like, 'Damn, I'm missing out.' It sucks. Learning how to walk again, learning how to get through the pain and the trials and tribulations.
"Then yeah, it probably is detrimental in your mental, but as you're looking through the pain of it, I'm going to be better," said Parsons. "I want to keep getting better. I know this reward is going to be so worth it in the end. You just stack days, it kind of gets very beautiful. Because you're recognizing your progression a little bit more. But each day, I couldn't do that last week. Cool. Today I'm bending a little bit more. Great. But, I think it's a real beauty in it."
One of the major moves the Packers made in the offseason is adding proven defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to take on that role for the team. Gannon more recently served as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. However, he made his name as the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, helping lead them to the Super Bowl during the 2022 season where they ranked eighth in points allowed and second in yards allowed.
"Yeah, of course," said Parsons on if he's talked to Gannon. "I'm extremely excited of what JG is going to bring to the team. I talked to a lot of his former players. They all have pretty raven reviews about him. I'm just excited to work with another DC and hopefully go to the championship."
If you're looking to bet on the Packers' chances with Parsons back on the field, check out our list of the best sportsbooks or get started with a DraftKings promo code.
