When the schedule comes out in May, fans immediately look at their Week 1 matchup. The Vikings will face their bordering rivals, the Green Bay Packers. Both teams split the series last year, though the Week 18 contest carried no weight.
Week 1, meanwhile, is set to be a massive bout, as the two franchises want to get off to a good start. Green Bay will be without one of its top guys. Micah Parsons, who tore his ACL in December, said that he’ll open the season on the PUP list, the Physically Unable to Perform list.
Kevin Patra, NFL.com, wrote, “Micah Parsons confirmed on Wednesday he won’t be on the field to open the Green Bay Packers’ 2026 season. The star pass rusher spoke to reporters at the team facility, revealing that, in addition to ACL surgery last year, he also underwent a meniscus procedure. Parsons made it clear that there is a strict nine-month rule, starting from the date of surgery, for his rehab, and he’s targeting a mid-October return.”
A mid-October return would certainly cost him games against the Vikings, Jets, Falcons, and Buccaneers. Matchups against the Bears (10/11), Cowboys (10/19), or Lions (10/25) could be realistic return dates for the star defender, who cost Green Bay a pair of first-rounders last year.
Parsons said, “I think the goal has always just been not right now, but longevity with my career here. I think they want that approach. We have a pretty strong nine-month rule. It’s just all about, just through the research and the data, there’s no good outcomes with players coming back early from [an] ACL. Especially if you had other things that had to get fixed up, so it’s just all about completing the rehab to the best of our ability and then seeing where we’re at from there.”
T.J. Hockenson and Christian Darrisaw are two recent Vikings examples of players who couldn’t reach their past heights after ACL recoveries. Hockenson suffered his injury late in the 2023 season and played half of 2024 and the entire 2025 season, with limited success. Darrisaw’s injury occurred in October of 2024. After missing the first couple of games last year, he returned in Week 3 and was in and out of the lineup all year, while never appearing to be fully comfortable.
It remains to be seen how quickly and how successful Parsons’ return is. Few players look as explosive as they did before the injury. Adrian Peterson remains an outlier in that department.
Parsons added, “Not only is it hard to accept that I’ma miss more time than what I want, but obviously hard to accept the injury. It constantly replays in my brain. … I haven’t accepted it yet, but I work hard as hell every day trying to make sure that I will be better when I come out of this.”
He emphasized that his eyes are on the Super Bowl, not the beginning of the year: “The goal for me is to complete the season — not no relapse — and playoffs and pushing towards a championship. The goal isn’t for me to go out there and re-hurt myself trying to force myself to be back in the first few games. The goal has always been playoffs, and I think we’re all on the same page.”
After the two-pick investment and the annual salary of $47 million, the Packers will undoubtedly be cautious with their franchise player, who’s one of the best the league has to offer. Minnesota has been on the wrong side of his talent a few times. Last year, he tabulated a couple of sacks against J.J. McCarthy. He collected four sacks in three wins over the Vikings in his career.
In his first campaign in Green Bay, the 26-year-old appeared in 14 games and registered 12.5 sacks, 41 tackles, and 12 tackles for loss. He possesses a premier combination of speed and power and has the versatility to line up all over the formation.
The Vikings’ rematch with the Packers is scheduled for Week 10, and the five-time Pro Bowler will presumably be back by then.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
