The Green Bay Packers have a new avenue to get Micah Parsons back on the practice field earlier this season, but Matt LaFleur does not sound ready to rush the process.
Asked Thursday when Parsons might begin practicing, LaFleur offered a loose timetable that would push the star edge rusher’s first team work into late September or early October.
“I haven’t even asked about that,” LaFleur said, per Jason B. Hirschhorn of The Leap. “Probably a couple weeks.”
“I haven’t even asked about that. Probably a couple weeks.”
That answer matters because the NFL changed its PUP rules for 2026.
Players on reserve/PUP are now allowed to begin a 21-day practice window after their team’s second regular-season game. Parsons remains ineligible to play until Green Bay has completed four games, but the Packers technically have the option to get him back on the practice field after Sunday’s Week 2 matchup with the New York Jets.
LaFleur’s estimate suggests Green Bay plans to wait.
LaFleur’s Timeline Keeps Packers From Rushing Parsons
Parsons has been rehabbing since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery after tearing his ACL in Green Bay’s Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos last December. His procedure also included a meniscus repair, a factor that has lengthened the recovery compared with a straightforward ACL rehabilitation.
The 27-year-old made that distinction himself in August. Parsons said teammate Tucker Kraft was already walking four weeks after his ACL injury, while Parsons spent seven weeks on crutches because the medical staff had to protect his meniscus.
“We’re right where we should be,” Parsons said at the time in an interview with Packers.com, adding that both he and Green Bay’s training staff were pleased with his progress.
A “couple weeks” from LaFleur’s Sept. 17 comments would put Parsons around the beginning of October, near Green Bay’s Week 4 trip to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He cannot play in that game because players placed on reserve/PUP must miss at least four contests.
The first game in which Parsons is eligible for activation is Week 5 against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 11. Green Bay then hosts his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, in Week 6 on Oct. 18.
That leaves the Packers with room to bring Parsons along through practice before deciding when he is ready for game snaps.
Parsons’ Return Would Restore Packers’ Top Pass-Rush Weapon
Green Bay felt Parsons’ absence long before this season began. Parsons led the Packers with 12.5 sacks in 14 games in 2025 and also produced 83 quarterback pressures, via his Packers team profile. His season ended when he injured his knee against Denver.
The pass rush still generated three sacks in the Packers’ 39-22 Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, including one from Edgerrin Cooper. Green Bay, however, watched a 22-10 third-quarter lead disappear as Minnesota scored 29 consecutive points.
Parsons gives defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon a different caliber of pressure player whenever he returns. The five-time Pro Bowler has recorded at least 12 sacks in each of his first five NFL seasons and owns 65 career sacks.
For now, the emphasis remains on the rehab rather than squeezing Parsons into the earliest available practice window.
Parsons said in August that a mid-October return was “realistic” and acknowledged the Oct. 18 meeting with Dallas was on the table, while stopping short of declaring it his target date.
LaFleur’s latest estimate appears to keep that general timeframe intact. The new PUP rule gives Green Bay flexibility after Week 2, but the coach’s answer indicates the Packers are prepared to use it conservatively with the centerpiece of their defense.
Packers’ Matt LaFleur Surfaces Micah Parsons Back-to-Practice Timeline