The Green Bay Packers are a very good team, but they were excellent because of Micah Parsons. The offseason trade gave them a defensive stud to anchor a solid unit, thereby propelling them from playoff team to Super Bowl contender. By and large, that played out during the first 14 and a half weeks of the regular season.
The Packers were 9-3-1 and right around the top of the NFC. Now, with Parsons potentially tearing his ACL, their future is a lot less exciting.
Micah Parsons’ injury tanks Packers chances
A torn ACL can be a tricky injury to recover from. It often takes a long time to fully recover from, which impacts the 2026 season at this point. However, in the immediate aftermath, the Green Bay Packers have now lost their best defender and one of the best pass-rushers in the entire NFL. Heading into the playoffs, it cannot be understated how devastating that is.
The Packers were a legitimate Super Bowl contender with Micah Parsons. Having an elite edge rusher is so helpful in the playoffs because they can wreak havoc on the opposing offense. J
ordan Love isn’t the best of the best at quarterback, but he’s a capable player who can win playoff games. With him and Parsons, the Packers had a duo that could’ve taken them far. Now, one-half of the equation is gone.
Perhaps Bill Barnwell said it best: “This wasn’t a one-year, all-in trade by any means, but the Packers were a Super Bowl-caliber team with Parsons in the mix. Now, suddenly, things are much tougher for the Packers in the NFC.”
The NFC wasn’t wide open, but you could’ve made a good argument for the Packers, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks to make it out, but not really anyone else. It’s hard to buy into the Packers’ chances now.
It was a non-contact knee injury, which is almost always a torn ACL. He went down, and afterward, head coach Matt LaFleur said it “doesn’t look good” and refused to expound further. The expectation is that it’s a torn ACL, which hurts in unfathomable ways.
Regardless of whether it’s a tear or if it’s another knee injury, Parsons is all but assured of sitting out the rest of the season, which may not last nearly as long anymore.
2026 is affected, too
The Packers traded for Parsons and extended him, so this move wasn’t for 2025 alone. However, with AFC powers fading and the NFC looking fairly open, this may have been the best opportunity for the Parsons-Love combination to yield a title. Instead, they’ll have to see what a depleted roster can do without its best player.
“It’s obviously tough,” LaFleur said about losing Parsons via NFL. “We all know what type of player he is and the impact he’s had on our football team. And to lose somebody like that, it’s tough. Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for us. We’ve got to find a way. Guys have got to rally around one another.”
This also affects 2026. Given that the tear occurred in Week 15, it’s difficult to see Parsons back up and running by Week 1. It won’t be as damaging to miss the preseason as it will be for Patrick Mahomes, who also tore his ACL on Sunday, but it’s far from ideal.
And that Week 1 date is a pretty optimistic outlook. By all accounts, Parsons is going to be out half of next season.
Fortunately, the Packers are still well-rounded and can probably survive long enough to get him back. Then, they can go on a run and see what this team has. However, that’s if Parsons isn’t slowed a bit. Knee injuries can nag players, and torn ACLs can impact them for a long time.
There’s no guarantee he’ll ever be quite the same.
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