I’m not sure if this is the bargaining or acceptance stage of grief, but like many of you, I wondered, “What do Pro Bowl pass-rushers look like when they return to the field after an ACL tear,” following
Micah Parsons’ injury on Sunday. So I did the legwork myself and found five Pro Bowl edge defenders who have had the same injury over the last decade. (Forgive me, this is how I grieve.)
Let’s go over the ages at which they sustained their injuries (Parsons is in his age 26 season, for perspective), how quickly they returned to the field and what their production looked like when they returned to the field. Depending on your expectations for a post-ACL tear Parsons, the case study could be viewed as positive or negative for his future.
Nick Bosa
Bosa earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie in 2019 and tore his left ACL in Week 2 of the next season, his age 23 season. While he missed all of the 2020 season, he was able to return to the field for the 2021 regular-season opener. In the four seasons following his ACL tear, he made the Pro Bowl every single year and averaged 13.4 sacks per season.
This season, in Week 3, Bosa tore his other ACL (his right leg this time) in his age 28 season and hasn’t yet returned to the field.
Bradley Chubb
As a rookie, Chubb posted 12 sacks. The following year, he tore his ACL in Week 4 of his age 23 season. Like Bosa, he also missed the remainder of the season, but he was also able to return to the field for the next regular season. In his return year, he made the first of his two Pro Bowls.
In 2023, he tore his ACL again in Week 17 of his age 27 season. Like Bosa, it was to the opposite knee than the one he originally injured. He missed the end of the 2023 season and all of the 2024 season. He returned to the field in 2025 and has posted 6.5 sacks.
Rashan Gary
Packers fans already know the story about Gary, but he tore his ACL in his age 25 season, when he was playing the best football of his career. While he did make his first Pro Bowl after his injury, he has never really been able to recapture the magic that he had going for the 2022 season.
He went down in Week 9 of 2022 and was ready to play football in the Packers’ season opener the next year. Since then, he’s averaged eight sacks a game per season.
Chase Young
Young was named a Pro Bowler during his rookie season after being drafted second overall in the 2020 draft. In his sophomore season, his age 22 campaign, he tore his ACL in Week 10. He missed the remainder of that year and was only able to play in the final three games of the 2022 season.
Since his ACL tear, Young has only averaged 4.5 sacks per season. If there’s any boogie man story in this group, it’s probably Young’s. He went from looking like one of the future faces of the league to a side character very quickly.
Harold Landry
Landry made his first and only Pro Bowl in 2021, his age 25 season. The following August, after signing an extension, Landry tore his ACL. He missed all of the 2022 season, but he was able to return for the 2023 opener. Since then, he’s averaged nine sacks a game.
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Truth be told, that’s really the entire list of Pro Bowl pass-rushers who have torn their ACL, at least according to Spotrac’s data. If you go back to 2015, Justin Houston tore his ACL in his age 26 season, one year after posting 22 sacks. After making four straight Pro Bowls, Houston never reached those heights again, recording between 4 and 11 sacks over the seven seasons following his ACL tear and averaging 7.9 per year.
For the most part, the last decade of Pro Bowlers shows that pass-rushers do return to the field as contributors after an ACL tear, but that ACL tears can be turning points in careers. For example, the only edge defenders who earned Pro Bowls after their ACL tears have been Bosa, Chubb and Gary. Both Bosa and Chubb had another ACL tear after making their post-ACL tear Pro Bowls, though.
Here’s to hoping that Parsons (and Gary) can buck those trends.
P.S. I am not a doctor, but I do cope hard enough to look up decade-long injury information.
