Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is extremely confident that Micah Parsons -- who is still only 27 years old and one of the most athletic players in football -- will be the same All-Pro caliber player when he returns to the field from surgery to repair his ACL.
"I have a lot of confidence. We’ve seen so many guys come back from these ACLs before and play at such a high level. He’s a young guy, he’s a little bit of a genetic freak, those guys tend to do very well. That’s certainly our expectation," Gutekunst said in a recent interview with Pete Dougherty of PackersNews.com.
Significant injuries have derailed elite players in the past, but the Packers recently saw Christian Watson -- who was around the same age with similar elite athleticism
when he tore his ACL to end the 2024 season -- return from the injury and almost immediately play at a high level. In fact, Watson's play to end 2025 helped him earn a new contract extension in Green Bay.
Can Parsons repeat the feat in 2026?
In 2025, Parsons was a first-team All-Pro after producing 12.5 sacks and over 80 pressures over 14 games during his first season in Green Bay. Through his first five NFL seasons, Parsons has five straight seasons with at least 12.0 sacks, five straight Pro Bowls and four All-Pro honors. He is on the Hall of Fame trajectory.
When will Parsons return? He's starting the season on the PUP list, meaning he'll miss the first four games, but Gutekunst isn't ruling out Parsons returning within the first six weeks. He can begin practicing after the first two weeks.
"We’ll see. He’s going to be down the first four because of the rules, but we’ll see once we get out of that time where he’s at," Gutekunst said.
Gutekunst recently said Parsons would be "pretty close" to ready after the first four games, and he's keeping the door open to Parsons practicing in some capacity come Week 3.
The Packers understand Parsons' importance, both in the short and long term, so caution will likely rule the day. Gutekunst even admitted the Packers will likely "ease" Parsons back once he returns. The idea is to ensure Parsons is 100 percent come the biggest games in December and January, and he avoids the setback that could put in jeopardy his status as one of the NFL's biggest game wreckers.
"Certainly players like Micah don’t come along very often, and you don’t have the availability to get a player that affects the game like he does," Gutekunst said. "I mean, there are very few players who tilt the field in your favor when they’re out there, and he’s one of those guys. There’s just very few of them. Offenses have to play differently when he’s on the field, and if you make a mistake, he can wreck the game. I think everybody that saw him last year for us, he did that. We're excited to get him back and get him healthy and get him out there so he can start doing it again."
Gutekunst also said he's confident in the pass-rushing group he's beginning the season with along the defensive line, and he does not feel a need to make a trade for a pass-rusher before the trade deadline. Parsons' return, which could come sooner than expected, will be one of the biggest in-season additions made by any team in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers GM confident Micah Parsons will return at All-Pro level
