Micah Parsons does not yet know when he will play in an NFL game this season. But he has a message for whoever lines up across from him when that day comes.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday for the first time since the Packers opened training camp last week, Parsons made clear he has been keeping track of every week he has missed. The All-Pro edge rusher is on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from a torn ACL in his left knee, an injury that ended his first season in Green Bay.
"I think people are worried about, you know, if I come back. I just feel like people should just be worried about how I'm going to be when I come back," Parsons said. "Like, people are worried about the knee. They should be worried about how I'm going to play when I get back. 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."
Parsons had recorded 12 and a half sacks in his first 13 games after a blockbuster trade brought him to Green Bay from Dallas in late August last year. He went down during a December 14 loss at Denver. The Packers did not win another game. Their season ended with a 31-27 playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, a game in which Green Bay surrendered 25 fourth-quarter points after leading 21-3 at halftime.
He underwent surgery on December 29 to repair both the ACL and damage to the meniscus. Doctors gave him a nine-month period with no football activity, meaning the earliest he could begin any football-related work is September 29, after the Packers' first two regular season games.
Parsons is expected to start the season on the PUP list. Under that designation, he can begin practicing after the team's first two games but cannot play until after missing four games. The Packers' Week 5 game is October 11 at home against the Bears, the same team that eliminated them in the playoffs.
The following week, October 18, Green Bay hosts the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field. Parsons acknowledged he would like to be available for that one.
"I think it's very realistic," Parsons said. "Me and the (medical) staff, we've got to get to the point where I'm feeling great and we say, 'Micah, you'll be in a really good phase.' Is it possible? Yes. I wouldn't say it's not possible. But, at the same time, in these next 10, 12 weeks from now on, we've got to do our part to make it possible. It's not off the board, but we've got to put the work in."
