The Green Bay Packers have started to steady themselves, but one of the biggest questions hovering over the team still has no quick answer: when will Micah Parsons be back?
Green Bay moved to 3-2 after a dominant 31-7 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon, a result that has changed the mood around the team in a hurry. There’s real optimism heading into this weekend’s matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. Even so, the injury situation remains a concern, especially after Javon Hargrave suffered a torn Achilles and was ruled out for the season against Chicago.
Parsons was supposed to be approaching a return around this point, but he still has not practiced, leaving plenty of fans wondering why the wait is taking longer than expected.
The good news for Green Bay is that the defense has held up well without him. In Parsons’ absence, several young players have stepped up, and that has helped ease the blow even with star linebacker Edgerrin Cooper also out for the season. Jonathan Gannon, in his first year as Packers defensive coordinator, has drawn strong praise for the job he has done so far.
Still, Parsons remains the player everyone wants to see back.
On his podcast, “The Edge,” Parsons addressed the concern directly and explained why the process has been slower than people expected:
“The biggest thing that people worried about with me, they’re like, ‘Man, why ain’t he back yet?’ If the Super Bowl was this week, I’m playing in the Super Bowl.
But it’s just about me making sure I have all the small things fixed first. What a lot of people don’t figure out is it’s not just the ACL.
It’s like, why did the ACL happen? What was weak?
“Because it all works together. It’s a chain.
And throughout the history of ACL, they notice if you come back early, there tends to be an overcompensation injury on the other side … we just gon’ make sure everything is right before. Because everyone knows, it’s like, what’s the point of getting me back for four weeks and then next thing you know, my groin bothering me.”
That explanation lines up with a lesson Packers fans have seen before. Wide receiver Christian Watson dealt with a string of injuries early in his NFL career, and after a couple of years Green Bay sent him to a specialist in Madison. The issue traced back to one leg being much stronger than the other, which forced the weaker one to compensate and contributed to the injuries.
The Packers clearly do not want to repeat that kind of mistake, especially with an All-Pro pass rusher they have under contract for the next few years. For Green Bay, the priority is obvious: get Parsons back only when he is truly ready.
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