Green Bay Packers linebacker Micah Parsons is looking forward to returning to action, even more so against his former team.
Parsons told reporters that returning for Week 6 against the team that traded him to Green Bay, the Dallas Cowboys, on October 11 is “very realistic.”
“Me and the (medical) staff, weve got to get to the point where Im feeling great and we say, Micah, youll be in a really good phase,'” Parsons said on Tuesday. “Is it possible? Yes. I wouldnt say its not possible. But, at the same time, in these next 10, 12 weeks from now on, weve got to do our part to make it possible. Its not off the board, but weve got to put the work in.”
Parsons is recovering from a torn ACL and meniscus sustained in Week 15 of last season. As a result, he opened training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. If Parsons opens the regular season on the PUP list, he’ll be forced to miss the Packers’ first four games.
Updated league rules allow players on the list to practice after two regular-season weeks, though Green Bay historically prefers a nine-month recovery window after surgery before clearing players for practice. That timeline points to a late September practice return.
“I wouldn’t say it’s not possible, but, at the same time, in these next 10 weeks â 10, 12 weeks from now on â we’ve got to do our part to make it possible,” Parsons said. “It’s not off the board, but we’ve got to put the work in.”
While Parsons has resumed straight-line running, he noted he still needs to clear hurdles such as changing directions. Before his injury, Green Bay was 9-3-1, and Parsons recorded 12.5 sacks and 64 quarterback pressures. The Packers didn’t win a game after Parsons’ season-ending injury.Â
Addressing concerns about his recovery, Parsons urged observers to look past the short-term timeline.Â
“People are worried about the knee; they should be worried about how I’m going to play when I get back,” Parsons said. “The anger, the frustration, the things that I’m going to have to let out because of how long it’s been since I played. So I think that’s what people should really worry about.”
Parsons, who missed training camp last year before being traded from Dallas to Green Bay shortly before the regular season, attributed his injury to physical overload.Â
He went on to add how the experience has given him another opportunity to improve.
“I feel more stable. I feel stronger. I probably was blind to a lot of things that I probably should have been working on that I got a chance to correct and get stronger during this process,” Parsons said.
The Packers begin the season against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 13.
