Micah Parsons gives worrying health update ahead after tearing ACL in debut season for Packers

Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons has offered a worrying update on his long-awaited return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Parsons said the day after the Packers’ playoff loss to the Chicago Bears in January that he hoped to return for the opening game of the upcoming season, while acknowledging that Week 3 or Week 4 seemed more realistic.

But the former Dallas Cowboys edge rusher offered a more conservative estimate while updating reporters on his recovery Wednesday.

He underwent surgery December 29 and said that he also ‘had to get my meniscus cleaned up.’ Parsons said he’s following a ‘nine-month rule’ in terms of how long to wait before returning.

Parsons was asked if that meant a nine-month delay before playing, or before practicing at all. ‘I don’t know,’ he responded. ‘I just know it’s a pure nine months (with) no football.’

The nine-month mark would be September 29, after the Packers’ third game.

Considering Parsons may need more time to ramp up to game readiness, his actual return date could come a few weeks after that, though he isn’t setting a specific date.

‘I would definitely say it is hard for me to accept,’ Parsons said. ‘Not only is it hard to accept that I’m going to miss more time than what I want, but obviously hard to accept the injury.

‘It constantly replays in my brain. … Like you don’t even know how much time I spent on Chat GPT about my injury and how to like I just can’t accept where I’m at. I’m like, “Man, how do I keep progressing and progressing?”‘

Parsons earned All-Pro honors and had 12.5 sacks in his first season with the Packers before tearing his left ACL on December 14.

The Packers were 9-3-1 and were leading the Denver Broncos when Parsons injured his knee. They lost that game 34-26 and didn’t win again the rest of the season without him.

‘The goal isn’t for me to go out there and re-hurt myself trying to force myself to get back the first few games,’ Parsons said. ‘The goal has always been playoffs, and I think we’re all on the same page.’

Parsons acknowledges maintaining that approach is difficult because he’s so eager to get back on the field and start working with new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who came over after Jeff Hafley left to become the Miami Dolphins head coach.

‘All you can do is just try to make yourself better every day, and that’s all I try to do, control what I can control,’ Parsons said.

‘Everyone is completely different in their processes whatever they had to get cleaned up throughout their surgery, so everyone’s different. Everyone’s bodies are different, everyone heals different.’

Parsons’ injury spoiled what had been an impressive debut season in Green Bay after the Packers acquired Parsons from Dallas for three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark and their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks.

Green Bay then signed Parsons to a four-year, $188million contract extension that included $136m guaranteed.

He isn’t the only elite pass rusher to change teams over the past year after the Cleveland Browns sent Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday for 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder and a 2029 third-rounder.

Parsons said he hadn’t spoken yet with Garrett since the trade, noting the two-time AP Defensive Player of the Year probably had received ‘1,000 text messages’ by now. 

But he did offer a message of his own Wednesday for his fellow All-Pro.

‘I would say it’s a whole lot different from the NFC versus the AFC and I think everyone knows that,’ Parsons said.

‘So I look at the AFC as like the AFC is cool, there’s a couple sharks. The NFC is shark infested. It’s shark infested. It’s like playoff football every week. There’s not really weak opponents in the NFC. I’m going to put it like that.’