It’s official. The Green Bay Packers will start the 2026 NFL campaign without star edge rusher Micah Parsons.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday the team placed Parsons on the reserve/PUP list. With the move, the edge rusher will miss the first four games of the 2026 regular season.
“Packers officially moved Micah Parsons to Reserve/PUP, ruling him out for this season’s first four games,” wrote Schefter on X.
The move isn’t overly surprising. In fact, it’s mostly just a formality. Pundits expected Parsons to begin the season on the PUP list. He suffered a torn ACL in December, and the Packers have been cautious with his recovery timeline.
But there’s a new NFL rule regarding the PUP list this season that could benefit the edge rusher. Players who begin the regular season on the PUP list are now permitted to start practicing after Week 2. For the Packers, that will be Monday, September 21. Green Bay will visit the New York Jets on Sunday, September 20 for its Week 2 matchup.
That will allow players, Parsons being one of them, to have longer “ramp-up” timelines because PUP list players are still required to miss the first four games of the regular season.
Parsons could return as early as Sunday, October 11 when the Packers face the Chicago Bears in Week 5.
Packers Place Edge Rusher Micah Parsons on PUP List
It’s not clear if Parsons will be able to take advantage of the new rule enabling him to return to practice in a couple weeks. The Packers have been pretty steadfast in not allowing the edge rusher on the field before the nine-month anniversary of his injury.
Parsons suffered his knee injury on December 14. He underwent surgery, which included repairing an ACL and a meniscus cleanup, on December 29.
If the Packers allow Parsons to get back on the field the week of September 28, then he could practice with the team leading up to its Week 4 showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then perhaps that enables Parsons to play the following Sunday versus the Bears.
Parsons could also be targeting a Week 6 return versus his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, on Sunday, October 18.
Packers Edge Rusher Depth for Week 1 of 2026 NFL Season
Again, not having Parsons for four games isn’t anything unexpected for the Packers. But it’s still a big deal because of how great the superstar is.
Despite missing the end of 2025, Parsons still earned a first-team All-Pro nomination. He finished the campaign with 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback hits and two forced fumbles in 14 games.
Without Parsons, the Packers will turn to Lukas Van Ness to be the team’s top edge rusher in September. Van Ness was a first-round pick during the 2023 NFL Draft, but he has yet to live up to that hype.
In 43 career NFL games, Van Ness has posted 8.5 sacks.
The Packers will also likely have Barryn Sorrell and Brenton Cox Jr. play a bigger role along the edge without Parsons. Rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton and Collin Oliver are other potential candidates for more snaps as well.
Packers Make Final Roster Call on Micah Parsons to Start 2026 NFL Season