The Green Bay Packers had initially set a Week 6 return for star edge rusher Micah Parsons. However, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the team is not going to see their franchise player return to practice in the week leading up to their Sunday Night Football matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
Schefter noted that the team hopes for him to return this month, but admits they do not have an exact timeline.
“Packers are not anticipating that their standout pass rusher Micah Parsons will return to practice this week as Green Bay prepares for Sunday night’s game vs. the Dallas Cowboys, per sources. There is still uncertainty about exactly when Parsons will return from his knee injury, but the hope still remains it will be this month,” tweeted Schefter.
The Packers have been adamant that Parsons has not had a setback. However, they are also not seeing progress at the timeline they initially planned out when they had the surgery.
Green Bay Packers Will Not Have Micah Parsons vs. Dallas Cowboys Week 6
About a week ago, Tom Pelissero reported that the Packers might not be anticipating Parsons returning until November.
“Packers star Micah Parsons hasn’t had any setbacks in his rehab. But he’s not expected to practice next week, and it could be November before he’s ready for game action.”
So, while Schefter has noted that the team is hopeful for a return in October, the timeline that Pelisserro laid out nine days ago is starting to get more accurate.
Green Bay Packers Have Not Opened Parsons 21-Day Window
The Packers have yet to open the practice window for Parsons. That window would allow him to practice with the team for 21 days before they decide when to activate him.
Typically, he would take the first week to ramp up and shake off rust. By the second week, all eyes are on a return. If there are any setbacks, the team has a third week before they have to decide on activating him.
There are plenty of instances where a player returns to practice and immediately gets game action. However, this is a serious injury for Parsons, and he has missed over nine months. It might be asking a lot for him to get back on the field without a week of practice first.
So, with Parsons not returning this week, there is a question about his Week 7 status as well as this weekend. The Packers play on Thursday Night Football in Week 8. That would be a quick turnaround for Parsons. So, his earliest return could be October 29.
With that being a Thursday night game, they might want to take it easy in that case as well. That is how the injury timeline can drag into November.
This is an interesting timeline because both Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft returned right at the nine-month mark in their recovery. Parsons ‘ nine-month mark would have been last week, and he is still not suiting up.
Micah Parsons Return Timeline Takes Troubling Turn