The NFL at large now believes that Green Bay Packers pass-rusher Micah Parsons will miss multiple games, including as much as one month of the season, which makes the team’s situation at edge-rusher even more dire.
Parsons’ return timeline has been a moving target and something of a debate, with the general belief remaining that his torn ACL in Week 15 will ultimately cost him some time, though hope existed the freak athlete and his maniacal approach to rehabilitation could get back into the starting lineup by Week 1.
However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday, May 14 that the physically unable to perform [PUP] list, is likely in Parsons’ future.
“He’ll be a candidate to be placed on the physically unable to perform list. I’ve heard three to four games potentially missed,” Schefter said. “There’s time for him to recover, time for him to get back. But it certainly feels like the tone has been — and the expectation has been — that Parsons will miss some time to start the season.”
A PUP designation would mean the first-team All-Pro misses at least four contests.
Even before that update from Schefter, multiple analysts were pushing Joey Bosa as an option to fill what has grown into perhaps the single greatest need on the Green Bay roster heading into the summer.
Packers Pass-Rush ‘Thin’ Beyond Micah Parsons
Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell of ESPN suggested Bosa as a fit for the Packers last week.
“I don’t know if there’s a more load-bearing player in the NFL right now than Micah Parsons,” Kimes said. “This is a thin group.”
“There are a lot of edge guys left,” Barnwell added. “There is Joey Bosa.”
Spotrac projects Bosa, who will play next season at 31, to ink a two-year contract worth $27.5 million on the strength of 16 quarterback hits, nine tackles for loss, five sacks and five forced fumbles in 15 games played for the Buffalo Bills in 2025.
He has earned just north of $156 million over his 10-year career, which includes five Pro Bowls and the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2016.
Packers Can’t Go into Season With Lukas Van Ness as Best Pass-Rusher on Active Roster
Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron also mentioned Bosa last week, noting the shortcomings of Lukas Van Ness as the team’s top edge-rusher with Parsons out and after trading Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick earlier this offseason.
“Gary is no longer on the Green Bay Packers. This absence propels 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness into their starting lineup,” Infante wrote. “[Van Ness has] also only combined for 8.5 sacks in his three seasons with the Packers. They drafted Dani Dennis-Sutton in Round 4, but he’s a raw technician who should be strictly in backup territory as a rookie.”
“Bosa would give Green Bay the reliable rotational piece they lack off the edge, while serving as a much-needed insurance policy for Van Ness,” Infante added.
The Packers have $18.2 million in available salary cap space for 2026 as of Friday.
