Parsons Expected to Miss Start of 2026 Season

Packers News

Micah Parsons is not expected to be ready for the Green Bay Packers when the 2026 NFL season kicks off, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The All-Pro pass-rusher is a candidate to begin the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list as he continues recovering from a torn ACL.

Parsons went down on December 14, 2025, during a road game against the Denver Broncos. The injury occurred in the third quarter when Parsons planted his left leg while pursuing quarterback Bo Nix. He buckled without contact and did not return. An MRI the following day confirmed a torn ACL.

Green Bay lost that game 34–26 and did not win another contest for the rest of the season.

Speaking on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday, Schefter laid out the current thinking inside the organization. “The feeling within the organization has been that Parsons would miss the early part of the season and be back early on,” Schefter said. “He’ll be a candidate to be placed on the physically unable to perform list. Three to four games potentially missed. But again, we are still four to five months away from the time the season starts.”

Under NFL rules, a player who begins the regular season on the PUP list must miss at least the first four games before becoming eligible to return to practice. Parsons’ landing on that list would mean he would not be available for Green Bay’s opening four opponents: the Minnesota Vikings, the New York Jets, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Packers acquired Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys in a blockbuster trade on August 28, 2025. Green Bay surrendered two first-round picks,  one in 2026 and one in 2027, along with defensive tackle Kenny Clark, to land the deal. Parsons signed a four-year, $188 million extension the same day, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time.

He delivered quickly. In 14 games with the Packers, Parsons tallied 12.5 sacks and 41 tackles before the knee gave way in Denver. Green Bay, which had been the NFC’s No. 2 seed at the time of the injury, tumbled to the No. 7 seed by season’s end and was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs.

Schefter was careful to note the calendar still works in Parsons’ favor. Recovery from ACL surgery typically runs nine months, a timeline that would place Parsons’ return squarely around mid-September, the same window as the start of the season. Whether he can beat that timetable, Schefter suggested, remains to be seen.