While the stance of the Green Bay Packers is that edge rusher Micah Parsons has not had a setback in his ACL recovery, the timeline of his return has shifted. Parsons eyed a Week 6 return before the season started. As the team heads into Week 6, reports are that Parsons’ return is going to be closer to Week 9.
Both Tom Pelissero of The Ringer and Jonathan Jones of The Athletic reported that the team is anticipating a November 8, Week 9 return.
“A league source tells me Parsons might not return until Week 9, against the Patriots on Nov. 8,” wrote Jones in his weekly column. “The Packers did not open his practice window this week to begin his return. In Week 7, Green Bay plays the Detroit Lions before hosting the Panthers on “Thursday Night Football”; believing Parsons needs more than a week to ramp up, the short-week turnaround would be difficult to pull off.”
On the same day, Pelissero added that the belief is that Week 9 is the earliest Parsons will return. The next two weeks are already off the table.
“Meanwhile, Micah Parsons still isn’t ready to practice, making it unlikely he plays before Nov. 8 against the Patriots at the soonest,” wrote Pelissero.
The Packers have not opened the 21-day practice window on Parsons. When they open the window he will have three weeks to practice before being activated. If Green Bay does not activate after the window expires, he will be out for the year, remaining on the IR. So, the timing of when the Packers open his window does matter.
Green Bay Packers Might Not Get Micah Parsons Back Until Week 9
Green Bay has typically held players out for nine months after major surgeries. Christian Watson returned to practice right at the nine-month mark, and Tucker Kraft did the same this year. However, Parsons would have hit that point last week, and yet he has not returned to practice.
The Packers have maintained that it is not a setback. Their stance is that Parsons simply has not been cleared yet, and he is progressing at his own pace.
Still, the chances of him returning to practice next week just got a bit lower. Green Bay has maintained that they anticipate him practicing for a week or two before returning to game action. So, Parsons could already be deemed out for Week 7. The next question is Week 8.
Packers Anticipate Parsons Return
While Parsons could return in Week 8, all reports are that it is not going to happen. The Packers play on Thursday Night Football in Week 8. So, if Parsons returned to practice before Week 7, he would have one week and an abbreviated week of practice before suiting up.
Meanwhile, if he returns in Week 9, the Packers could activate him next week, and he would get two and a half weeks of full practices before playing. The Packers also might activate him before Week 8. He would get half of a week, a few days off due to the Thursday game, and then a full week to ramp up for Week 9. That appears to be the Packers’ plan.
Packers New Timeline for Micah Parsons Return Revealed