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Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons.
The Green Bay Packers didn’t get the result they wanted in Week 15. On the road in Denver, the Packers fell 34-26 to the Broncos, dropping to 9-4-1. But that wasn’t the worst part of the night. The real damage came when they lost their All-Pro pass rusher, Micah Parsons.
As soon as Parsons went down on a non-contact play, there was a collective gulp across the sideline and fan base, fearing the worst. Even after the game, head coach Matt LaFleur admitted it didn’t look good. Twenty-four hours later, the fear was confirmed: Parsons will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
Parsons joined Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who also suffered an ACL tear earlier that day in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. It was a brutal day for two of the NFL’s biggest stars.
While the Packers still have plenty to play for — including a potential playoff berth in Week 16 — it’s impossible not to wonder “what if” when it comes to Parsons. That, and when exactly he might return next season.
When Could Micah Parsons Return in 2026?
Once the diagnosis became official, Packers fans immediately turned their attention to the clock. According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Parsons faces at least a nine-month recovery timeline, with a real chance he could miss the start of the 2026 season.
#Packers star Micah Parsons has, in fact, torn his ACL and is out for the 2025 season, the MRI confirmed. He faces a 9 month recovery at least.
That’s the standard timeline for ACL recoveries, though it varies from player to player. Some athletes return sooner. Others take much longer to feel like themselves, even after being medically cleared.
Parsons’ defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, believes his star pass rusher will defy expectations.
“Just knowing who he is, just wait until you guys see how hard he works to come back, how fast he probably comes back — if I were a betting man, I would bet that he comes back even better and probably breaks the sack record next year,” Hafley said on December 17.
That’s a massive prediction for anyone, especially someone coming off ACL surgery in December. The single-season sack record currently sits at 22.5, shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. With three games left and already at 21.5, Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett has a real chance to break it this season.
RGIII Believes Micah Parsons Should Wait to Come Back
If anyone understands how brutal ACL injuries can be, it’s former Washington first-round quarterback Robert Griffin III. Between college and the NFL, Griffin suffered three major ACL-related injuries that ultimately altered his career.
Appearing on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Griffin said he wishes he had waited a full year to return after his final ACL/LCL surgery in early 2013 — and he offered that same advice to Parsons and Mahomes.
“The number one advice I would give to Micah Parsons and Patrick Mahomes right now is to not play next year,” Griffin said. “And it’s because of when they got hurt. They both got hurt in December.
“It would be nine months if they were ready to go Week 1,” Griffin added. “But you don’t really feel like yourself until about 15 months after the injury. And some guys will even tell you, ‘It took me 24 months to truly feel like myself again.’”
That’s not something most Packers fans want to hear. But Griffin knows this injury as well as anyone. It may ultimately be better for Green Bay to get the best version of Parsons back — rather than rushing him and risking another setback.
Shane Shoemaker Shane Shoemaker is a sports journalist covering college football and the NFL for Heavy.com. His work has also appeared in The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, USA TODAY, and ClutchPoints, along with high school sports coverage for the Marion Tribune. More about Shane Shoemaker
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