A proposed NFL rule change could alter the Micah Parsons return timeline
Micah Parsons might be able to return to practice in Week 3, not Week 5, if this rule goes through.
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 07: Micah Parsons #1 of the Green Bay Packers leaves the field after defeating the Chicago Bears 28-21 at Lambeau Field on December 07, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images As we broke down earlier this month, when we covered all of the Green Bay Packers’ injuries going into the 2026 season , the Packers are going to have a tough decision to make when it comes to star edge rusher Micah Parsons, coming off a torn ACL. As the rules state, at the moment, he will either start the season on the 53-man roster (though he probably wouldn’t be fully ready to return until about Week 3) or he will start the season on the physically unable to perform list, meaning that he can’t even practice with the team before Week 5.
The one bright side to the PUP list is that Parsons wouldn’t take up a spot on the 53-man roster during his time out of the rotation. A new bylaw proposed by the NFL competition committee, though, wants to change how these PUP list players are used to start the season. Instead of being completely boxed out of practice for four weeks, the competition committee proposed to voters on Tuesday that PUP players should be able to return to practice after a team’s second game of the regular season.
By Competition Committee; to permit players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform to begin a 21-day practice period after the club’s second game of the regular season. In the Packers’ case, this would greatly benefit their Parsons situation, as Parsons should be getting close to on-field work around Week 3 of the season, but this also means that the Packers can ramp him up well before Week 5, which would have been their earliest option under the current PUP rules. If you are curious, here are some other rules that the NFL is going to vote on: The league wants to allow HQ to override mistakes if there are replacement refs next year .
The league should just pay the refs. Cleveland either wants to trade or trade for five seasons’ worth of first-round picks . If I were Arch Manning, I’d be worried.