Micah Parsons Targets Thanksgiving Eve Return for Packers

Packers fans finally have a date to circle. Micah Parsons and Green Bay are targeting the Nov. 25 Thanksgiving Eve game against the Los Angeles Rams for his return from a torn ACL.

The plan was reported Saturday morning by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Parsons is set to practice next week after hitting all of his most recent rehab markers, but the team is treating that as one more step in the ramp-up, not the finish line.

The Road Back

Here is the timeline. Next week Parsons is expected to take part in individual drills. If all goes well, he moves to team drills the following week. Then Green Bay has its bye in Week 11, followed by a short week of prep for the Wednesday night game at SoFi Stadium.

Parsons has not played since Dec. 14, when he tore his ACL and meniscus. He had surgery on Dec. 29 to reconstruct the ACL and fully repair the meniscus, and he has been open about not rushing it.

"What a lot of people don't figure out is it's not just the ACL," Parsons said recently on his "The Edge" podcast. "It's like, why did the ACL happen? What was weak? Because it all works together."

What He Means to Green Bay

Before the injury, Parsons had 12.5 sacks in 14 games last year. That is game wrecking production, and the Packers have been winning without it. Green Bay is 5-3 after beating Carolina 27-19 on Thursday night.

Coach Matt LaFleur is not hiding how much he wants him back. "At the end of the day, that's the medical [decision]," LaFleur said. "Yeah, I'm itching [for] it, though, for sure."

The Games Before the Return

Green Bay has two more games before the target date, at New England on Nov. 8 and home against Minnesota on Nov. 15. Getting Parsons back for the stretch run would turn a solid defense into a scary one.

The Rams game itself is a big stage. It is a Wednesday night kickoff at 7 PM Central in Los Angeles, the night before Thanksgiving, and if the plan holds, the whole league will be watching how Parsons moves in his first real action in more than 11 months.

My Smacktok lean: do not chase Parsons sacks in his first game back. The plan is a slow ramp from individual drills to team drills, and the medical staff has the final word, so expect a pass rush that builds over December rather than a full workload on day one.