Chicago could be staring at a nightmare situation if the latest Bears schedule rumor ends up becoming reality
The Chicago Bears have had a few games get announced ahead of the 2026 NFL schedule release but one critical game against a division rival is still up in the air with massive implications for the timing of it.
Earlier on Thursday, the NFL announced one of the two matchups between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, which will be played on Christmas Day this upcoming season.
The second game has yet to be officially announced, but with the other matchup being in Week 16 and the Week 18 game confirmed against the Minnesota Vikings, it’s likely the first Bears-Packers matchup will be held early in the season.
How early is the question, and it’s very important question for one reason in particular.
Chicago Bears might not be able to dodge Micah Parsons again despite possible PUP
ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed on Thursday that Packers star pass rusher Micah Parsons is a “candidate to be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform List” to start the 2026 season. If that’s the case, Parsons would be forced to miss the first four weeks of the regular season as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered last December.
Parsons played in the first meeting of 2025 between the Bears and Packers, which happened to be the only game of the three meetings the Packers won last season. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the Bears will be able to dodge Parsons a third time.
Based on the confirmed announcements and leaks, the first game between the Bears and Packers is expected to be after Week 4, meaning Parsons would be eligible to return and face his team’s bitter rival.
The rumor is that the Bears will face the Packers in Week 5 at Lambeau Field, which would be the nightmare situation for Chicago and the ideal target date for Parsons to make his return in front of the home fans. And Parsons is already unhappy with how things went against the Bears in the two games he was forced to miss.
“I just don’t like them because I just see the disrespect,” Parsons said last season. “I play for respect. You know how to earn someone’s respect is beating the [expletive] out of them. You gotta go out there and take it. Respect is something that’s earned, and these people wanna come here and beat us in our house? Someone comes and [expletives] on your lawn, what are you gonna say?”
It’s very highly that the Bears will end up facing Parsons at least two times next season. While the coaches and players welcome the challenge of playing teams at their best, a lot of the fanbase was hoping to get one game without Parsons in 2026.