Micah Parsons has put together an impressive NFL career since his days at Penn State, and he’s done it with two teams: The Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers.
Those teams meet in NFL Week 6 on Sunday Night Football, which would be a chance for Parsons to suit up for his current team — the Packers — against his former team, the Cowboys.
He won’t be out there on Sunday night, though. The NBC broadcast will probably show him plenty. But he’ll just be standing on the sideline at Lambeau Field, probably bundled up nice and warm.
When this game popped onto the NFL schedule before the year, it sure seemed like Parsons would have a chance at what some like to call a “revenge game.”
Instead, the Nittany Lions great isn’t going to take part in the fun.
Why Isn’t Micah Parsons Playing Tonight?
Parsons isn’t playing on Sunday night because he remains on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
He was placed on the PUP list before this season began. He tore the ACL and meniscus in his left knee last season with the Packers during Week 15 on Dec. 14.
Parsons’ placement on the PUP list came with a minimum four-week absence, but a player can remain out longer than that, and Parsons has stayed out longer.
Evidently, he’s not ready to play yet — and the Packers aren’t going to rush it with one of their best players.
An ACL recovery can bring a player back as quickly as nine months, and it’s been about 10 months for Parsons so far. But a full year-long recovery timeline is somewhat common with a knee injury like this, too — so Parsons isn’t late, just not particularly early.
Micah Parsons Explains Decision
Parsons spoke on his podcast earlier in October about the fact that he won’t be back for this game against his former team.
“So many people wanted me to be back for that game to make the game bigger than what it was,” Parsons said on his podcast. “It’s just another ‘Sunday Night Football’ game between two good teams. It’s not about me. I think that probably let people down. ‘Oh, Micah, he’s gonna want to be back for the Dallas game.’ No, I’m in that phase of life where I just want to be healthy again. That’s it.”
Parsons did go further: “If the Super Bowl was this week, I’m playing in the Super Bowl,” he said.
He also explained his injury more fully:
“What a lot of people don’t figure out is it’s not just the ACL. It’s like, why did the ACL (tear) happen? What was weak? Because it all works together. It’s a chain. And throughout the history of ACL, they notice if you come back early, there tends to be an overcompensation injury on the other side.”
That’s a lot of insight from Parsons. But the end result is that he’s still out. His current team and former team are facing off, but Parsons won’t be in uniform.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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