Buccaneers receive big news that makes their 2026 schedule even sweeter and could help them get a crucial regular season win
The Buccaneers’ 2026 schedule is a very favorable one in terms of layout and construct. They received some additional news that puts their Week 4 matchup against the Packers on notice.
There’s a lot to like regarding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2026 schedule and the recent news about Green Bay Packers star linebacker Micah Parsons adds another palatable note.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Parsons is a candidate to start the 2026 regular season on the physically unable to perform list, commonly known as the PUP. The expectation is Parsons will miss an early chunk of the season – the question is exactly how much. Therefore, the Packers could place him on PUP in order to perserve another roster spot until he returns.
“The feeling within the organization has been that Parsons would miss the early part of the season and be back early on,” Schefter said on Thursday’s edition of Get Up. “He’ll be a candidate to be placed on the physically unable to perform list. Three to four games potentially missed.”
Well, as it turns out, the Buccaneers’ official 2026 schedule has the Packers as the Week 4 opponent. Meaning, Parsons would miss that game if he’s placed on PUP, as it requires players to sit out a minimum of four regular season games.
Packers defense will sorely miss Parsons against the Buccaneers offense
There’s no doubt Parsons makes the Packers defense all the better when he’s on the field and there’s a vast difference in overall performance when he’s unavailable.
Per Sports Info Solutions, the Packers defense averaged a mark of (-0.02 ) EPA per play when Parsons was on the field, compared to an average of (0.12) EPA per play when he wasn’t playing. That’s a stark difference of (0.14) EPA per play, which is pretty wild, but also expected to see.
Check out the rest of the splits when Parsons is around compared to when he isn’t:
Packers defense when Parsons is on the field and isn’t
The number in front of the slash represents the Parsons Effect and the second number represents the Parsons Absence. Remember, the smaller number is better when referring to defensive EPA.
- Pass defense: 0.03/0.021
- Run defense: -0.08/0.01
- Overall positive play rate: 46/51
Those are massive differences and it’s just more proof of how much weight Parsons carries on any defense he plays on. Granted, the Packers did play two of the NFL’s best offenses in the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens when Parsons was out. That’s going to skew the numbers, but the point still stands as we all know how good he is.
Having Parsons on the field would’ve certainly helped mitigate the offensive performances from those two teams.
Regardless, the Buccaneers now have reason to look ahead to Week 4 over the offseason. No one is saying that’s going to be the direct focus, by any means. But it’d be silly to think the team doesn’t have a vested interest in Parsons recovery from this point on.