playRob DemovskyOct 12, 2026, 02:21 PM ETCloseRob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsGREEN BAY, Wis. — Not only will Micah Parsons not make his season debut this week against his old team, but the Green Bay Packers star edge rusher still isn’t ready to practice for the first time since last season’s torn ACL.Parsons has cleared the four-week window during which players on the physically unable to perform list must sit out. In fact, he could have begun practicing after Week 2.
While it appears that Parsons’ rehab work has intensified in recent weeks, based on what can be seen during the open portions or practice, there’s still no firm date for his return.”As soon as they give us the green light, he’ll be out there,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Monday. “That hasn’t happened yet, but I think we’re getting closer.”Parsons had said during training camp that he thought a return against his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, in Week 6 was “very realistic.” That’s now out of the question — as is the following week against the Detroit Lions because the Packers almost certainly would want Parsons to practice for more than a week before he plays.”There’s a lot of testing that goes on before he gets medically cleared to get out there,” LaFleur said. “And then I’m sure we’re gonna want to give him some time to get back to playing football. As you see with most guys that are coming off a major injury, it takes a little bit of time.”There was further reason to think that Parsons might have been back by now because on Sept. 1, general manager Brian Gutekunst said he has “a pretty good idea once we get out of that four-game window that we’re going to be pretty close.”However, Gutekunst was quick to add that they will be cautious with how they bring Parsons back because of the “big investment” they have made in him and the desire to have him at this best late in the season.When asked if something changed since Gutekunst’s comments, LaFleur said: “I think we were all hopeful.””I mean, he’s a physical specimen, he’s a creature of nature for sure and sometimes you’ve gotta make sure that your body is [in sync],” LaFleur added.
“You don’t want one leg to be that much stronger than the other leg is what I’m getting at.”Parsons was injured on Dec. 14 and underwent surgery on Dec. 29, which means he is 9½ months removed from the surgery. The Packers typically hold out players recovering from ACL surgery for at least nine months before allowing them to practice.In 14 games last season after the Packers acquired Parsons from the Cowboys in a trade just before the 2025 season, he had 12.5 sacks and led the NFL with 64 quarterback pressures, according to ESPN Analytics. However, they didn’t win another game last season following his injury after starting 9-3-1. The Packers have a 3-2 record heading into Sunday night’s game against the Cowboys (2-3) at Lambeau Field.
