The Green Bay Packers have been anxiously awaiting the return of defensive lineman Micah Parsons. Parsons has not played this season, as he recovers from having surgery on a torn ACL. His return is getting closer, according to a new report.

“There's a chance Micah Parsons practices next week….The Packers aren't gonna put him in harm's way at all and the defense played well against the Chicago Bears,” NFL insider Ian Rapoport said on The Pat McAfee Show.

"There's a chance Micah Parsons practices next week..

The Packers aren't gonna put him in harm's way at all and the defense played well against the Chicago Bears" ~ @RapSheet #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/cBUwQvUGlg

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 13, 2026

Green Bay is 3-2 on the season without Parsons. The Packers are coming off a blowout win over their division rival, the Chicago Bears.

The Packers next play Parsons' old team, the Dallas Cowboys. Before the season, Parsons had hoped to start playing in that contest. Green Bay clearly wants to be careful about his health.

“There's a lot of testing that goes on before he gets medically cleared to get out there,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said recently, per ESPN. “And then I'm sure we're gonna want to give him some time to get back to playing football. As you see with most guys that are coming off a major injury, it takes a little bit of time.”

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Parsons was traded from the Cowboys to the Packers, ahead of the 2025 season. He immediately made a major impact on the Packers defense last season.

“In 14 games last season after the Packers acquired Parsons from the Cowboys in a trade just before the 2025 season, he had 12.5 sacks and led the NFL with 64 quarterback pressures, according to ESPN Analytics. However, they didn't win another game last season following his injury after starting 9-3-1,” ESPN reported.

The Packers and Cowboys play on Sunday. Dallas enters the game with a 2-3 record.