Micah Parsons makes candid admission about 2026 season expectations with the Packers following ACL injury
The star edge defender tore his ACL back in December. Now, he will likely miss the first few games of the regular season during his recovery process.
It’s easy to fall into a trap thinking Micah Parsons will return from a serious knee injury like nothing happened. But the star player himself knows it won’t be as simple. In a recent interview, the Green Bay Packers star admitted that the process is a long road, and it might take some time for him to get fully back.
“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,” Parsons told The Action Network. “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.”
Recovery timeline
Right after the injury back in December, Parsons said his goal was to get back in September. Now, the edge defender doesn’t know exactly when that’ll happen. It’s possible that Parsons starts the regular season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, which would force him to miss at least the first four games. But getting back earlier isn’t out of the equation.
“It really just depends,” Parsons added. “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 the tough situation, Parsons seems to be happy with where his body is at this point.
“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.”
Last August, the Packers sent defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks to acquire Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys. In his first season in Green Bay, Parsons made the First-Team All-Pro and had 12.5 sacks in 14 games. Hopefully for the Packers, Parsons gets to his best self soon — and the team has four seasons left on his contract to fully materialize the post-trade expectations.