The Green Bay Packers are scrambling to keep a competitive team on the field amid a slew of health problems, and getting superstar pass-rusher Micah Parsons back from his ACL rehabilitation can’t happen soon enough.
Head coach Matt LaFleur delivered a blow to fans earlier in the week, noting that Parsons would not officially return to practice ahead of the team’s showdown with the rival Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field in Week 5.
However, Rob Demovsky of ESPN reported on Thursday, October 8 that there is legitimate optimism for Parsons to get back as soon as next week.
“Micah Parsons also seems to be ramping up even more with some seemingly new work — or at least new that we’ve seen — with the rehab staff off to the side,” Demovsky wrote on X. “Could he possibly return to practice next week?”
Micah Parsons Can Still Hit Personal Goal of Returning to Action by Week 6 Against Dallas Cowboys
Parsons and the Packers made it pretty clear that he would miss at least the first month of the 2026 campaign after suffering his knee injury in December of 2025, which Green Bay confirmed when it designated the edge-rusher to the physically unable to perform (PUP) list ahead of Week 1.
As time passed, Parsons’ timeline did not get any more certain. In fact, some new projections guessed his debut might come as late as November.
But Parsons himself said that he was shooting for active status ahead of the Packers’ Week 6 matchup against his old team, the Dallas Cowboys. Whether he will actually be ready to play on Sunday Night Football at Lambeau Field on October 18 should he return to practice next week is unclear.
However, if Parsons can get back to work at some point over the next several days, there is a chance for him to line up against his old teammates.
Packers Will Face Bears Backup QB Tyson Bagent at Lambeau Field Sunday
The Dallas matchup could prove a crucial one for Green Bay, particularly if the Packers fall to the Bears at home this weekend.
Chicago will start backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, as Caleb Williams remains sidelined with a hamstring injury. But even without their starter, the Bears are favored to best the Packers in Green Bay.
The line for the game opened with Chicago as 3.5-point favorites but has fallen to 1.5 points as of Thursday afternoon, per DrafKings Sportsbook, presumably as money has come in on the Packers to cover at home. Sunday’s contest represents just the third time in three decades that the Bears will walk into Lambeau as the odds-on favorites to win, assuming the point spread doesn’t drop further.
Chicago’s run game has proven devastating through four weeks, which has helped an incomplete Bears’ defense surrender fewer than 10 points per contest over its last three outings (28 points allowed in total) simply by controlling the clock and keeping it off the field.
But while the two franchises appear to be trending in different directions in early October, the Packers-Bears rivalry is heated and volatile enough that Green Bay fans should still maintain plenty of optimism for a jump to 3-2.
If the Bears claim victory, though, it will be imperative for the Packers to beat the Cowboys in Week 6.
Green Bay’s schedule toughens across the five games to follow, which include three road contests against the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, as well as home games vs. the Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings.
Packers Get Promising Micah Parsons Update Before Bears Game