GREEN BAY, Wis. – NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported on Saturday that it’s “possible” Green Bay Packers superstar Micah Parsons won’t return to game action until next month.
“Parsons is eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list in Week 5, but he isn’t expected to return to practice next week,” Pelissero wrote on his new Substack. “And while there have been no setbacks, it’s possible that the five-time Pro Bowl selection won’t play in a game until November.”
The Packers will play at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. It’s the first of five games in October, followed by back-to-back home games against the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 11 and Oct. 18.
Asked during training camp about making his return against the Cowboys, his former team, Parsons said:
“I think it’s very realistic. Me and the staff, we’ve got to put the work in. We’ve got to the point where I’m feeling great and we say, ‘Micah, you’ll be in a really good phase.’ Is it possible? Yes. So, I wouldn’t say it’s not possible but, at the same time, in these next 10 weeks – 10, 12 weeks from now on – we’ve got to do our part to make it possible. It’s not off the board but we’ve got to put the work in.”
After those home games, the Packers will play at the Detroit Lions on Oct. 25 and host their second Thursday night game of the season on Oct. 29 against the Carolina Panthers.
Based on Pelissero’s November timeline, maybe Parsons would make his practice debut on Wednesday, Oct. 21. That would give him a three-week ramp-up before the Sunday night game at the New England Patriots on Nov. 8.
The alternative would be making his debut at Lambeau Field – on grass – against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Nov. 15. Their make-believe bye week follows that game in advance of their Thanksgiving Eve game at the Los Angeles Rams.
Will Packers Be Alive in November?
The Packers are 1-2 entering Sunday’s game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are 3.5-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook against a team with zero wins and an undrafted rookie at quarterback.
It’s practically a must-win given what’s ahead.
Assuming for the sake of this story that the Packers will be 2-2 after Sunday, what will be their record entering November?
Week 5: Chicago Bears (2-1). Presumably, it will be the Packers without Parsons vs. the Bears without Caleb Williams. Given how Chicago pulverized the Eagles on Monday night with Case Keenum at quarterback, this would be a huge challenge for the revenge-minded Packers even with Parsons. Minnesota’s Dallas Turner has as many pressures (24) as all of Green Bay’s edge players combined.
Week 6: Dallas Cowboys (1-2). The Packers without Parsons have mounted a decent pass rush. They are 12th in sack percentage and ninth in pressure percentage even while ranking only 20th in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate. Pressure will be huge against Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who has perhaps the best receiver duo in the league with George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb.
Week 7: at Detroit Lions (2-1). Or, maybe Jared Goff has the best receiver duo in the NFL with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. Along with running back Jahmyr Gibbs, it’s little wonder why the Lions are third in the NFL in scoring. Their offense is a monster on the fast track of Ford Field.
Week 8: Carolina Panthers (1-2). Bryce Young has gotten better every season. Through three weeks, he was No. 1 in the NFL in passing yards with the up-and-coming receiver duo of Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker.
Can the Packers be a 4-4 team through those eight games without Parsons? And how many wins must they have to give themselves a real chance to make a playoff push during the second half of the season?
Starting with their first game in November, the Packers will play at the Patriots (1-2 but the defending AFC champs), home against the Vikings (3-0), at the Rams (1-2 but Super Bowl favorites), at the Saints (1-2) and home against the Bills (3-0).
Micah Parsons’ Comeback
Parsons could have returned to practice this week. When general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke to reporters at the end of training camp, he opened that door wide open.
“There’s a new rule this year where we can open their window to practice after the second game,” Gutekunst said on Sept. 1. “I imagine when that time comes, there’s going to be some conversations about what he can and can’t do, because he’s going to be really eager to get out there.”
Parsons, obviously, didn’t return to practice this week and he’s not expected to practice next week, either, according to Pelissero. While Tucker Kraft made his comeback quite public by sprinting up and down the sideline during offseason practices, Parsons has worked quietly on the side when reporters have been present. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t been running and ramping up for his potential return to practice, but it’s made it tough to gauge where he’s at in his comeback.
“We have a pretty good idea once we get out of that four-game window that we’re going to be pretty close,” Gutekunst said on Sept. 1. “As you guys have heard me say, I’m going to be pretty cautious with that. We’ve got a big investment there. It’s really important to what we’re trying to do.
“To accomplish the goals we want to late in the year, he’s going to need to be at his best. So, I want to make sure that that happens.”
That paragraph led into Gutekunst’s note about the PUP rules and how Parsons was “eager” to get back on the field.
“It doesn’t shock me at all, obviously, but these guys, they want to play,” he continued. “They’re unhappy when they’re not playing. They want to be out there with their teammates, they want to be competing. When there’s an injury or any other reason that they might not be out there, it’s not fun for these guys because they want to be out there. He’s definitely in that category.”
As Parsons said during the offseason, his goal is to be an impact player for the end-of-season games. While the game against the Bears and Lions in October will be important, so, too, will be the late-season rematches.
“People are worried about the knee,” Parsons said during camp. “They should be worried about how I’m going to play when I get back. The anger, the frustration, the things that I’m going to have to let out because of how long it’s been since I played. So, I think that’s what people should really worry about.”
SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER
Add us as a preferred source on Google
