The Green Bay Packers may have to keep grinding without Micah Parsons longer than they hoped, and the latest update points to a return that could slide into November.
Tom Pelissero of The Ringer reported that Parsons is not expected back anytime soon, even though he has not suffered any setbacks in rehab. Green Bay already placed him on the PUP list, which knocked him out for the first four games, and the idea of getting him back in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears always looked like a stretch. The more realistic target had been Week 6 on Oct. 18, when the Dallas Cowboys visit for Sunday Night Football.
Now, Pelissero says it "could be" November before Parsons is ready for "game action."
If that holds, Week 9 at the New England Patriots would be the first possible landing spot. After that, the Packers would come back to Lambeau Field for a rematch with the Minnesota Vikings before their Week 11 bye, giving Parsons nine games at worst if he’s cleared by then.
Green Bay’s situation makes the delay feel even sharper. The Packers are 1-2, and Sunday’s trip to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - an 0-3 team with an undrafted rookie at quarterback - suddenly carries more weight than anyone in Green Bay expected. Dropping to 1-3 would be a brutal turn for a team that was 9-3-1 a year ago before Parsons went down in the Denver Broncos game.
The Packers did snap a six-game losing streak by beating the New York Jets in overtime, but that was followed by an ugly home loss to the Atlanta Falcons. So the margin for error is already thin, and the defense now has to hold the line while Parsons works his way back.
The good news is that rehab has stayed clean. That gives the training staff a chance to keep building him up without forcing the issue, which matters when a player of Parsons’ caliber is expected to be such a big part of the finish. Green Bay already saw what this defense looked like when Parsons was hurt, and Jonathan Gannon’s group now has to keep the season alive until he’s ready.
If Parsons gets back in time and the Packers are still in the hunt, his return could become one of the year’s biggest storylines. If the wins don’t come before then, it won’t matter nearly as much. For Green Bay, the assignment is simple: stack wins now so Parsons can step back in and help make the Super Bowl dream feel real again.
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