The New England Patriots received some welcome news ahead of Sunday’s Green Bay Packers game at Gillette Stadium. A five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Micah Parsons has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game, still sidelined by the knee injury that cut short his 2025 season.
He has yet to play a snap this year, and his return, now pegged for Week 12 against the Rams, depends on a knee that healed far slower than anyone projected.
The Packers ruled out five players, including Parsons, on Friday’s final injury report. He practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday-Friday, doing individual and positional work only, his first time on the field in nearly 11 months. Green Bay opened his 21-day practice window on Wednesday.
Parsons is a “full go” for individual work but will not play against New England, coach Matt LaFleur said, according to NBC Sports.
Parsons, a 27-year-old Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native, was a consensus All-American at Penn State before the Dallas Cowboys took him 12th overall in 2021. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year, has made five Pro Bowls and has 65 sacks in 77 games. He is the only player in NFL history with 12 or more sacks in his first five seasons.
The Packers acquired him in August 2025 for Kenny Clark and two first-round picks, then signed him to a four-year extension worth more than $186 million.
Green Bay Packers’ Micah Parsons Injury Timeline
Parsons tore the ACL in his left knee on Dec. 14, 2025, in the third quarter of a 34-26 Packers loss at the Denver Broncos. He had beaten right tackle Mike McGlinchey and was chasing quarterback Bo Nix when his knee buckled and he went down, clutching it.
An MRI confirmed the torn ACL, and surgery followed around Dec. 29. Surgeons also performed full medial and lateral meniscus repairs, which kept him non-weight-bearing on crutches for seven to eight weeks, far longer than a standard ACL recovery. He had hoped to be back by Week 6 against Dallas.
So why the wait? Parsons has said his conditioning is the worst of his career. He is not expecting to be “the All-Pro Micah” right away, he said.
For much of the season, Week 9 looked like a realistic target. By late October that outlook had cooled, and reports, including from Ian Rapoport, have since targeted a Week 12 return against the Rams after Green Bay’s Week 11 bye. Parsons has declined to set a date himself.
Patriots’ Plan Without Facing Micah Parsons
Parsons generates pressure fast, often in three seconds or less, and forces offenses to chip or double-team him. New England’s offensive line has injury questions and a history of pass-protection problems, which makes facing a Parsons-less Packers team a preferred scenario, according to Pats Pulpit.
Without him, left tackle Will Campbell faces edge rushers such as Lukas Van Ness instead of a mismatch that demands help. The Patriots can use standard protections, hold the ball longer and send more tight ends and running backs into routes. With Parsons, they would need extra resources on his side, which limits creativity and raises the risk of negative plays.
Green Bay’s defense has stayed in the top 10 in several categories under coordinator Jonathan Gannon, and New England’s plan centers on keeping the Packers’ struggling run game down.
Parsons’ return would immediately upgrade Green Bay’s pass rush, and every opposing offense, New England included if the teams meet again, would have to plan around him. For Sunday, the Patriots face the rest of the Packers’ front instead.
Patriots Get Good News on Packers Defense Before Sunday’s Game