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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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The Green Bay Packers' linebacker and pass rusher Micah Parsons is looking forward to his return to the football field in the coming season after suffering a brutal season-ending injury during his team's late-season push to the playoffs.
He's been in recovery mode since that torn ACL and meniscus injury and is on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, while he appears at the Packers' training camp. He spoke with NFL Network's Stacey Dales and Brian Baldinger on "Inside Training Camp Live" about his importance defensively in the upcoming season.
Baldinger praised Parsons, calling him the league's best pass rusher, but said he had others arguing with him that it's Myles Garrett, who joined the Los Angeles Rams via a blockbuster trade this offseason.
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"I don't even think it's just about pass rushing. I think it's about commanding the defensive front. Like the way I set it up, I can dictate the slides, know where the slide's going, understand protections," Parsons told NFL Network.
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"I think I'm above IQ than every rusher in the league. I've learned from the best .... I really understand football way better at a way better level, so it allows me to use those abilities that I haven't seen no one else do," he said.
After beginning his career with Dallas in 2021 and becoming one of the NFL's top pass rushers, the Cowboys traded the Pro Bowl linebacker to the Packers in 2025 amid his contract holdout. Parsons then signed a historic deal with Green Bay, which made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league at the time.
It's hard to argue that he's among the league's best pass rushers, but Garrett claimed the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and set a new single-season sacks record with the Browns last season. With the 2026 NFL Top 100 players list down to fewer than 30 players to reveal, most likely both Garrett and Parsons will be in the remaining spots.
Parsons played in 14 games last season, recording 41 combined tackles and 12.5 sacks. Amid his injury recovery, he was selected for a fifth Pro Bowl and earned first-team All-Pro honors for the third time in his career.
However, in the upcoming season, Parsons has a limited number of games to show his pass-rushing and defensive abilities.
According to the NFL Network, Parsons said his "most optimistic" return to play for the Packers could arrive in Week 6. That would bring him back to play his former team, the Cowboys, on Oct. 18 for NBC's "Sunday Night Football."
His return will certainly be significant for this Green Bay team, which lost to division rivals, the Chicago Bears, in the NFL Playoffs.
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