Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons is not playing at the start of the 2026 NFL season as he continues to recover from a torn ACL and a meniscus procedure on his left knee. Parsons suffered the injury late in the 2025 season and had surgery on Dec. 29, 2025.
The recovery has kept him out of the Packers’ opening games, but his return is getting closer.
Under the NFL rules for players on the reserve/PUP list, he must miss at least the first four games. That means he cannot return before Week 5.
The Packers placed Parsons on the reserve/physically unable to perform (PUP) list before the start of the regular season.
Parsons explained in June that he was following a nine-month recovery plan set by the Packers’ medical staff.
He also said his meniscus procedure meant he spent seven weeks on crutches, making his rehab slower than teammate Tucker Kraft’s ACL recovery.
There is growing optimism around a Week 5 or Week 6 comeback. Packers officials have indicated he could be close when his four-game PUP period ends, while NFL reporting has pointed to Week 6 as a possible target. Parsons has specifically said a return for Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 18 is realistic. He said the Week 6 return is possible if he and the medical staff complete the necessary work.
Because dallas drafted him in 2021 and he spent his first four NFL seasons with the Cowboys before joining Green Bay, that game would be especially meaningful. The Packers have also been careful not to rush him. However, Parsons has not guaranteed that he will play that night. The Packers’ official schedule lists Dallas for a Sunday Night Football game at Lambeau Field
General manager Brian Gutekunst said the team expects to have a clearer idea of Parsons’ status once the mandatory four-game window is over. He said Parsons should be “pretty close” once that period ends.
