GREEN BAY – Micah Parsons called his first day back at practice "fulfilling," but he wasn't the least bit nervous.
"When you miss over 300 days and are working over 300 days, pretty much no nerves," Parsons said after Wednesday's workout, which included just individual drills for him but was his first practice since before injuring his knee last December.
"I'm excited about next week, when I can actually, like, practice and really see what I've got and see where I'm at. I'm excited for that."
Parsons' 21-day window for roster activation has opened, and 21 days from Wednesday just happens to be the Thanksgiving eve game at Los Angeles against the Rams.
He wasn't making any promises he'd be on the field at SoFi Stadium that night for his first game action in more than 11 months, but he's definitely got it in mind as a target to shoot for.
"I'm not going to pinpoint a day to disappoint anyone or get people's expectations that I can't meet," he said. "I gotta stack 20 days and hopefully on that 21st day I feel incredible."
When he does play, the four-time All-Pro will be a huge addition to a Packers defense that's ranked in the top 10 in the league in both points and yards allowed.
But it's already a "huge morale boost," according to quarterback Jordan Love, to see him on the practice field working his way back.
"We know it'll be probably a couple weeks to get him back in the swing of things, but just to have him back out there on the practice field, to know that he'll be coming back soon, is great," Love said.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur concurred.
"It is a big boost … especially after watching what he's gone through, the journey he's gone through, the amount of work he's gone through to get to this point," LaFleur said. "It's been a long road, but he's put in the work. A lot of people in our building have done a great job with him and we'll just see where it goes."
The one person in the building Parsons has repeatedly referenced is Nate Weir, the team's director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer. Parsons also credited Weir for bringing in outside experts to help guide the process, which involved recovering from both an ACL reconstruction and full meniscus repair in his knee.
The dual nature of the surgery is why his recovery has taken longer than that of teammates like Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft who have come back recently from torn ACLs.
Their recoveries have inspired him to a degree, but his road has required patience. He's managed that part fine, though that doesn't mean he's missed playing any less.
"You miss it all the time," Parsons said. "It's funny, when we're coming out for them Thursday night games and them Sunday nights, I'm looking at this atmosphere and I'm like, 'Bro.' If you don't feel the juice – I feel like I'm ready to play just being out there.
"I think you just miss the fans, you miss the energy on the field, guys celebrating after big plays, just the momentum and game-changing plays and finishing games. I'm excited to get back to that."
When he does, he's already acknowledged his play likely will be uneven – great moments mixed with rough ones. He's accepting some level of failure to go along with the success he'll demand of himself.
He's chalking all that up to part of the process, too, as will be ramping up from part-time to full-time duty in games.
"My conditioning right now is probably the worst it's been in my career," he confessed. "That's just the reality of it. Am I going to go out there and play 50, 60 snaps how I was doing before? Absolutely not. It's just not realistic. My body's not there yet. I don't think my knee's built for that yet. I didn't go through training camp.
"So, am I going to be the All-Pro Micah, the person I once was, this year? Probably not until later, after I go through all my phases."
As the Packers cross the midway point of the season and start to hit the stretch run for a potential playoff push, Parsons will be just getting started.
The merging of his return with the season's most meaningful games isn't lost on him.
"That's what I'm excited for," he said. "I came back for the greatest time of football, and that's November football and December football. Let the show begin."
