PHOENIX — The Green Bay Packers are in daily communication with All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons this offseason as he rehabs a torn ACL, general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters at the NFL’s annual meeting this week.
Gutekunst said Packers head athletic trainer Nate Weir recently visited Parsons in Texas and returned with a “really good” report.
Parsons tore his ACL in Week 15 last season against the Denver Broncos and said shortly after the season that he expects to miss the first three or four games of next season.
“I hope not,” head coach Matt LaFleur said Monday. “We’ve got a plan. I don’t ever wanna put limitations on people, but obviously there’s a process, and the medical (staff) has to feel really good about it before we put a guy back out there coming off that significant of an injury.”
Parsons has been posting videos on Instagram of his rehab, which he’s done in Green Bay, Texas and even Italy. He has also been training with Packers edge rushers Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver, who just finished their rookie seasons.
“When you acquire a player, you never really 100 percent know when they enter your environment, how that’s gonna be,” Gutekunst said. “I couldn’t be happier with how he’s embraced Green Bay, embraced our teammates and his teammates, the leadership he’s shown. He’s all football. I think that’s the thing for me that’s been exciting to see: where he’s gonna go as a Green Bay Packer.”
Gutekunst echoed LaFleur’s sentiment that the Packers will proceed with caution in Parsons’ return to play, but he added that “he’s an exceptional athlete and we’re hoping that takes over here pretty quick and that process goes fast.” Parsons earned first-team All-Pro honors last season and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting despite his first year in Green Bay ending prematurely.
Former Packers defensive coordinator and current Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley said Tuesday that he hopes the Dolphins’ scheduled trip to Lambeau Field this coming season happens in Week 1. Why?
“One of my favorite guys might not be ready to play by then,” Hafley quipped.
“I’m just really excited to get Micah back,” LaFleur said. “That’ll be a huge boost for our football team.”
Though Parsons spent only the first couple of weeks of the offseason rehabbing in Green Bay, standout tight end Tucker Kraft lives in the Green Bay area and has been around Lambeau Field doing the same constantly. Kraft was playing like one of the NFL’s best tight ends, if not the top one, when he tore his ACL in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers. Given his injury occurred six weeks before Parsons’, there’s a good chance Kraft will suit up for the season opener.
“He’s there all the time,” Gutekunst said of Kraft’s presence at the facility. “He’s doing really well, as well. Another huge part of our team. Both those guys — would’ve been nice to see how that back end of the season would have unfolded if they were there and a few others. Those guys are true pros. They’re very eager to get back. There’s a lot in front of them.”
Here are a handful of other notable items we learned from Gutekunst in Phoenix.
Marquee defensive additions
Gutekunst said he tried trading for Zaire Franklin even before he became a starter in Indianapolis.
Instead, Gutekunst dealt defensive tackle Colby Wooden to the Indianapolis Colts last month in exchange for Franklin, the soon-to-be 30-year-old linebacker, longtime Colts captain and 2024 second-team All-Pro.
“He was a really good special teams player,” Gutekunst said. “We kind of tried to acquire him then, so (he’s) been a really good player for a long time. Obviously, a very good leader as well, captain there, so I think as we kind of went down and we realized it was gonna be really tough to get Quay (Walker) back, I wanted to make sure we had an answer at middle linebacker, particularly one that might have some veteran presence, and I think we were excited to accomplish that.”
After swapping Wooden for Franklin, the Packers signed veteran defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to fill his spot on the defensive line. Hargrave, who turned 33 in February, played for new Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon the two seasons he called defensive plays for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021 and 2022.
“Obviously, he’s been an exceptional player in his career,” Gutekunst said. “He’s been one of those guys that’s excelled as a run stopper and a pass rusher. He’s a complete player, and I just think as, again, we’ve lost a few guys in the defensive interior there and we just needed to add something, and I think, particularly because he was released, it was not part of the compensatory formula. He just fit really well.”
Skyy is the limit
Gutekunst certainly made it sound like recently signed wide receiver and return specialist Skyy Moore has a shot to return kicks and punts for the Packers.
Green Bay ranked tied for 23rd with 25.1 yards per kick return and 32nd with 5.6 yards per punt return last season. Moore averaged 11.6 yards on 25 punt returns and 27.5 yards on 33 kick returns with the San Francisco 49ers last season.
“Last year was one of the first years he really had an expanded role as a returner, and he did an outstanding job,” Gutekunst said. “He was one of the better guys that did both in the league last year, and just as we went through that and had an opportunity to get him, that was something last year with our special teams that we needed to kind of add to, so excited to get him and see what he can do for us. … The return game last year was not where I wanted it to be, and I’m excited to get Skyy into the fold.”
Roster questions
Entering his ninth season as general manager, Gutekunst has perfected the art of saying a good amount without saying much of substance when it comes to his roster. Such was the case in response to questions about the Packers’ backup quarterback spot, their No. 2 running back role and former (and future?) Packers cornerback Trevon Diggs, but perhaps there’s a sliver we can glean from his answers about Green Bay’s plans.
Asked specifically whether the Packers have discussed signing free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins, whose first quarterbacks coach in the NFL was LaFleur, Gutekunst said: “We’ve discussed a lot of those options. Obviously, that’s a guy who’s got a lot of pelts on the wall in this league, so we’ve certainly discussed all those kind of things, and we’ll see where it goes.”
The Packers currently have just Desmond Ridder and Kyle McCord behind Jordan Love at quarterback, and Gutekunst said letting those two compete for the backup job is “certainly a possibility.”
As for the backup running back spot left vacant by Emanuel Wilson’s departure to the Seattle Seahawks, Gutekunst left no doubt that he’ll add to the room in some capacity later this offseason.
“I like our group,” Gutekunst said. “Obviously, we brought Chris Brooks back. We think the world of him, not only as an offensive running back in all phases but also a special teams player. I feel really confident, if he has to go into a game, what he’s gonna do. We’re certainly gonna add competition to that room. But I like — whether it’s MarShawn (Lloyd) as we get him healthy and get him going, (and) Pierre Strong’s there. There’s guys we really like, but I’m sure there will be more competition to come.”
The Packers could also use more cornerback depth, and Diggs, whom they were always going to release because of his massive contract for 2026, wore a Green Bay hoodie recently while working out with Parsons.
“I wouldn’t shut the door on anything,” Gutekunst said of Diggs. “As we work through the draft and get to the other side of the draft, we’re going to continue to look at ways to improve the football team, so we’ll see where that goes.”