The timeline for Green Bay Packers star edge rusher Micah Parsons returning from his ACL injury is still unknown. However, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic laid out an optimistic but also realistic timeline that should give fans a date to watch.
Schneidman noted that the team would not like Parsons’ return to football activity to be under nine months due to their own team rule. So, Schneidman notes that the team will not even see him on a field before their Week 4 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, if Parsons does return right before Week 4, it gives him one or two weeks to return for Week 6. Week 6 might be a big date for Parsons to come back by. That is because the Packers host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
“The Packers have a strict rule of nine months without any football activity for players rehabbing major injuries like Parsons’, so the best-case scenario is he returns to practice on Wednesday, Sept. 30, before that Sunday’s Week 4 visit to Tampa Bay,” wrote Schneidman. “Assuming he needs a couple weeks before playing in a game, perhaps he returns in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field or Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in Green Bay.”
The Week 5 matchup with the Bears could be big, but Week 6 feels like a safe bet and a good game for Parsons to circle as a date to return by.
Green Bay Packers Could be Without Micah Parsons for First 5 Weeks
GettyMicah Parsons #1 of the Green Bay Packers
This will be important for Green Bay to work hard to win as many games as possible without Parsons. Last year, the team was completely different with Parsons on and off the field. Green Bay entered Week 14 with a record of 9-3-1. They were leading against the Denver Broncos when Parsons went down with an ACL injury.
The Packers blew that lead and lost the final four games of the season. They ended with a Wild Card loss. So, Parsons helped get them there, but the second that he left the lineup, the team fell apart.
They cannot afford to continue the trend of going winless without Parsons. However, if the Packers can scrape together a 3-2 or 2-3 record after the first five weeks, they could be in a good place to break their playoff win drought.
The Green Bay Packers Need to Finish Strong
The issue with the Packers over the past three years has been that they are a great regular-season team who fell off during the playoffs. The team is top five in wins under Matt LaFleur in the regular season, but nowhere near the top five in playoff wins over that same span.
The thought was that Parsons could help put the team over the edge. However, his and other players’ injuries had the team out of the mix when it mattered once again.
However, now the team might start slow as they ease Parsons and others back into the mix. This could lead to the team finally being healthy and peaking at the right time, which is towards the end of the season. Will this work in the Packers favor?
Packers Get Optimistic Micah Parsons Return Timeline