Confessions of a Polluted Mindset - Missing Micah
The Weekly Packers Brain Drain from Jersey Al.
By JerseyAl
Ah yes, it's that dead period of the year when the NFL hasn't yet come up with anything new to keep us thouroughly engaged. It's when podcasters, reporters and bloggers schedule their vacations (I see you Nagler and Mosqueda). And rightfully so. There are no actual football-related activites going on that we can sink our teeth into. We pray that there won't be any untoward off-field bad news over the next few weeks. It's the time when Aaron Rodgers famously reminded his teammates to keep their noses clean and to remember that they "Carry the G" wherever they go. Unfortunately, the Josh Jacobs situation means the Packers already got out in front of the pack in the off-field bad news department.
So what's left for staunch Packers fans that can't stop thinking about their team to do besides stress over the injury recovery news relating to one Micah Parsons? This seemed to be going oh so well with regards to his recovery. At least, in our minds it was, because we obviously don't really know what is going on and can only speculate. The conversations for a couple of months has been that Parsons will target the Bears and/or Cowboys game for his return (as if he has the ability to know when he will be ready). It's was pretty silly for many of us that in our desire for optimism, we allowed ourselves to believe. I readily admit to being swept up in the idea of Micah making his trimphant return to make life miserable for Caleb Williams and Dak Prescott. One might even allow themselves to believe the NFL rigged the Packers' schedule to allow for this to happen - an enticing storyline for the NFL scriptwriters to chew on for weeks five and six of the "scripted" 2026 NFL season.
In all seriousness, the more likely scenario for Parsons' return was always there for Packers fans to accept, if they were willing. Some of you probably did (I can envision the comments section now raising their hands). Personally, it was always there in the back of my mind but I chose to keep it there. Why spoil the hope party? Well, it started to unravel earlier this month when it was revealed he also had a meniscus issue repaired, the Packers have a hard minimum 9 month wait rule from date of surgery (12/29/25) and he would start the season on the PUP list. But there was still hope thanks to the rule change this year that allows players on PUP to practice with the team after the second regular season game. Micah even said he was targeting October for his return.
But since then, Terence Parsons Jr, Micah's brother, threw some cold water on that idea and agreed with a Jason Laconfora report that Parsons was more likely to miss the first half of the season. No return for the Bears or Cowboys in October. Terence Parsons thinks he won't even start practicing until some time in October. Of course, he's not a doctor and can't know for sure either, BUT, it's probably prudent to beleive this timeline over the one we were hoping for.
It's not an ideal situation. Johnathan Gannon has his work cut out for him.
Go Pack Go!
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"Jersey Al" Bracco is the Editor-In-Chief, part owner and wearer of various hats for CheeseheadTV.com and PackersTalk.com. He's a lifetime Packers fan living in the land of the Giants (and Jets). Follow Al on twitter at @JerseyalGBP.
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Comments (29)
packerbackerjim
June 24, 2026 at 06:23 am
The sliver of a silver lining is that snaps will be available to thoroughly evaluate the “candidates “ and set the EDGE rotation.
Savage57
June 24, 2026 at 06:25 am
I'm more than good with him missing the first half of the season.
Not having had the chance to stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, all a guy can do is roll with the changes and err on the side of an abundance of caution.
(Again with the metaphorical chaos)
Seriously, the way his position and him in particular are gonna load and ask of that knee, take all the time you need, Jack, er, ah, Micah.
stockholder
June 24, 2026 at 06:36 am
Parsons promised us," The best is Yet to Come".
But with this ACL injury -
Parsons may never be the same.
Injuries have permanently altered careers,
while others were unable to reach their full potential.
Parsons could turn into one of the biggest
"what-ifs" for the packers. Ever!
Parsons will be afforded a more cautious,
extended rehabilitation period.
Just - To protect Gute's long-term investment.
But maybe the best solution might be
to just move on.
After all, look what they could have got for Rodgers.
If they moved him earlier rather than later.
Cheezehead72
June 24, 2026 at 07:08 am
Oh watch what comments you make about Parsons. There are too many people that believe he is our savior that will lead us to the promise land. They have made this the Parsons Packers.
The truth is he is one player that we gave up three for and then spent a lot of cap space on. This is what happens when you make a bad trade.
stockholder
June 24, 2026 at 07:28 am
I support the Parsons trade.
But the fact is; he is injured.
That changed the out look.
Like I pointed out-
What ifs??
The chemistry of a super Bowl team
is more than one player.
Getting back some of your investment.
Might be the smarter option now.
TKWorldWide
June 24, 2026 at 07:32 am
Could they get Giannis in return?
stockholder
June 24, 2026 at 10:01 am
What might be a better option-
The best kicker from World Cup.
Oppy
June 24, 2026 at 07:15 am
You think trading a player that is recovering from a serious knee injury is how you maximize return?
Surely, you're not actually this dim.
stockholder
June 24, 2026 at 07:32 am
Go read it again.
HE will be allowed time to recover.
But you can't wait for him.
His age, injury, and pay; changes the
the value of projection.
TXCHEESE
June 24, 2026 at 08:18 am
He's only 26. Moving on from him would be foolish at this point. Unless there is a complete blowout out of the ACL, it is usually stronger after surgery than before.
One of my co-worker's sons played linebacker in college and after 10 months of recovery, he was actually faster than before, and increased his squat max by almost 40 pounds.
stockholder
June 24, 2026 at 09:50 am
Stronger is always the hope!!
My Point was-
chemistry is often viewed as more effective
and reliable than pure star power.
The costs is something else to consider.
GregC
June 24, 2026 at 06:59 am
It seems odd that Micah's brother is out there making statements about this. Is he running interference for Micah, being the bearer of bad news? Or is he just speculating all on his own?
Anyway, let's do some math. Tucker Kraft got injured on November 2nd. By all accounts, his recovery has been spectacular, and he should be ready to go for the season opener on September 13th. Micah Parsons got injured on December 14th--six weeks later than Kraft--so if his recovery is as spectacular as Kraft's, he should be ready to go at least by week 7, which is October 25th against the Lions. Of course, Kraft may actually be ready BEFORE the season opener, maybe by two or three weeks (I'm just guessing), so if Parsons' injury and recovery are similar, he could still be ready as soon as week 4 or 5, at least in theory.
Unfortunately, it sounds like his recovery is NOT as spectacular as Kraft's. Maybe the meniscus is a complicating factor. I heard that Kraft was running around on the practice field during the minicamps, so if Parsons is running around at the beginning of training camp (which is about seven weeks later than the minicamps) there will be hope for an early return. That's looking less likely at this point, but we'll see.
HarryHodag
June 24, 2026 at 09:55 am
A caveat: it's tough to compare injuries as the severity of each injury is unique. I would much prefer a completely healthy Micah for the last half of the season than a not-yet-repaired Micah who would likely get injured again.
Cheezehead72
June 24, 2026 at 07:13 am
I hate to toot my own horn but I will. I made comments after he got injured that he would probably miss half the season and many of you optimist disagreed.
Personally I hope he takes all the time he needs and does not come back until he is 100% healed up. I would hate to see him make it worse.
NickPerry
June 24, 2026 at 07:19 am
"Personally, it was always there in the back of my mind but I chose to keep it there. Why spoil the hope party? Well, it started to unravel earlier this month when it was revealed he also had a meniscus issue repaired, the Packers have a hard minimum 9 month wait rule from date of surgery (12/29/25) and he would start the season on the PUP list."
I did too Al, especially after the end of last season. The first two months of the season will tell us ALL we need to know about this Packers team. Kraft, Reed, Watson, Wyatt, hopefully Tom will all be there starting and not missing any games like last season. BUT...
Gutes work will be on full display at the start of the season. I like players like Sorrell, Cox, and now Sutton. These guys HAVE to be able to contribute and do it right away. The Packers have to find a consistent pass rush outside of Parsons.
Can you imagine if they do? Lets just imagine Gannon's crew is able to play good defense and get pressure on the QB. Then to have a healthy Parsons coming back the 2nd half of the season, rested and not beat up after playing the first half. Holy shit!! That will be fun.
Bottom line is ALL these Gutey draft picks, HIGH draft picks need to play solid defense. If it looks anything like the last 5 games of last season, then they aren't nearly as close as everybody wants to believe. I'm not holding my breath but I'm still optimistic.
GO PACK GO!
TKWorldWide
June 24, 2026 at 07:37 am
When it comes to Gannon, I always think “pew, pew, pew, shots, explosives.”
It’s Pavlovian. I’m hoping early on he can accomplish something so impressive that it drives those funny noises from my addled mind.
Coldworld
June 24, 2026 at 08:22 am
Even if Parsons were healthy, we need to face the fact that he can’t do it alone. We need one, ideally two, other players to break out. If it’s just one, they need to become a second Parsons level player. That’s probably unlikely, so really we need a couple of 6-10 (at a minimum) sack players to back up Parsons.
No OLB should be starting who can’t legitimately promise 8 sacks. No, pressures alone do not cut it for starters (sorry Justis). Then we need a third with 8 or so and 3-4 at least from the depth rotation. That’s just how it’s worked in the league for some years. There’s a lot of hope but not a lot of tangible evidence of where these sacks are coming from.
The absence of Parsons will go a long way to showing us whether the rest of the OLB group is make believe or not and thus whether we are a credible enough force when he is back and if he immediately returns to full athleticism, which isn’t a given. Given what we have, if he’s given the opportunities, our best bet might be Cox, absent a fairytale transformation into a swan by Van Ness.
This is a season that looks prime for some long standing claims to be very openly tested. The talent at OLB is just one aspect that will be in the crucible from the outset. Are we real or are we a result of too much self-puffery inside Lambeau?
Guam
June 24, 2026 at 09:24 am
Credible and honest evaluation of the OLB group ColdWorld. With Wyatt returning and the addition of Hargrave, I would also hope the IDL could provide a bit more push (sacks and pressures) up the middle to augment the pass rush from the OLBs.
TKWorldWide
June 24, 2026 at 09:39 am
They warned us in catholic school that too much self-puffery could lead to blindness. Yikes. Now, could someone help me find my dog and cane?
Vachio
June 24, 2026 at 09:52 am
As someone who has gone through that same surgery on both knees, he's going to be fine. With his work ethic and the resources he has at his disposal, I'm not even a little bit worried. The battle is going to be between him and the organization. He will be ready to play by October, count on it. Will the team be ready to let him play in October? That's the question. I'm not against them being cautious, either. I'd rather they err to the side of caution than risk him blowing out his other knee while he's compensating for the repaired one unnecessarily.
HarryHodag
June 24, 2026 at 09:58 am
If the latest news is accurate, I hope the team takes a flyer on a veteran edger like Clowney or Bosa. What happens if Van Ness gets hurt? They need someone with experience to hold the fort until the cavalry arrives.
Coldworld
June 24, 2026 at 11:02 am
“What happens if Van Ness gets hurt?” That’s a pivotal question. Arguably, if he breaks out as some predict, we would likely be screwed iv he got hurt as we were when Parsons was. It’s darn hard to lose a near sack a game type.
However, if he plays as he has to date we actually might be better from a rush perspective since others who may be more effective get more snaps and acceleration on their development curve.
Roll those die. The problem with signing an outsider is that the back of the rotation (Cox, DDS, Oliver etc.) is potentially where the biggest chance of a step change in sacks may be hiding, certainly the potential is there. I would have traded Van Ness and diverted the option dollars to subsidize a FA.
Now Van Ness will be keeping others off the field. If he doesn’t break out dramatically, they won’t either in the bench. Gute created a log jam at the top not a dearth of potential behind. Signing a FA would not affect that. I hope Van Ness is transformed. If not, injury might be a blessing in disguise though, sad to say.
Based on his healthy snaps last year, he projects to around 5 sacks as a full time starter if healthy for the entire regular season. It would take a minor miracle to overcome that from a number 1 OLB, as we saw last year. That’s what he is projecting to be till Parsons is back.
gsd3
June 24, 2026 at 12:57 pm
If they are putting all their eggs in the LVN staying healthy basket....he hasn't done so to this point.
Thinking Sorrel will step up.
Dragon5
June 24, 2026 at 10:05 am
Given the magnitude of the investment and consequent precautionary modus operandi--after the week 11 bye would seem appropriate. Don't think for a second that the remorse for rushing back David Bakhtiari too soon has been forgotten.
NFLfan
June 24, 2026 at 10:37 am
Meniscus repairs can take a long time to heal as the meniscus get very little blood supply and Parsons puts an enormous amount of pressure on his joints, ligaments, tendons, etc with his style of play.
My opinion: Parsons knows he is not well-supported on the field by enough strong players--he IS the guy. LVN does not share the same load, Gary let him down. He has recently talked about wanting to protect his long-term career. I think he is evaluating what this return will do to him physically and will likely take his time, as he should.
Kraft doesn't carry the team like Parsons has been asked to do.
Coldworld
June 24, 2026 at 10:46 am
Meniscus tears (which is more than a cleanup) typically take 6 months. Trimming a meniscus to clean up minor damage, aka cleanup is under 3 months typically. That’s why it’s often done during related surgery if the actual need for it is not urgent, as it reduces further damage and minor discomfort.
NFLfan
June 24, 2026 at 05:02 pm
Micah is young and surgeons often try to repair a meniscus with sutures instead of clipping. A clipped meniscus reduces shock absorption.
LeotisHarris
June 24, 2026 at 02:29 pm
Whatever happens with Micah's recovery timeline, I'll take his brother's updates over Greg Jennings sister's musings anytime.
Lare
June 24, 2026 at 02:40 pm
The Packers have added LVN, Cox, Oliver, Gary, Sorrell, Moseby and DDS to the roster to improve the pass rush. If all these are failures then Gutekunst needs to go.