GREEN BAY – Micah Parsons isn't putting a specific date on when he'll return from his knee injury, but on Tuesday he called it "realistic" to be back in game action by mid-October.
Asked specifically about returning for the Packers' Week 6 home matchup on Oct. 18 against his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, Parsons' answer suggested it's doable but by no means guaranteed.
"Yeah, I think it's very realistic," he said in his first media session since the spring. "Me and the staff, we've got to put the work in.
"We've got to do our part to make it possible. It's not off the board but we've got to put the work in."
Parsons detailed his long rehab days, which start with his arrival at Lambeau Field at 7:30 a.m. They include warmups and extensive stretching and running sessions in between meetings and watching walk-throughs, as well as observing parts of practice and reviewing film of the defensive installations.
He gave a shout-out to director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer Nate Weir for all the time he spends with him, and he's certainly eager to get back on the field and find out all the various plays and packages new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has cooked up for him.
But he put the kibosh on any notion he's going to match teammate Tucker Kraft, who beat the typical nine-month ACL recovery timeline by a week or two when he hit the practice field last Friday.
Parsons' knee surgery involved a meniscus repair as well as the ACL reconstruction, so his timeline is different. Nine months from his surgery would be late September, or practice leading into Week 4.
"When Tuck was walking at four weeks, I'm still on crutches," Parsons said. "I did seven weeks of crutches, so you could just add those three weeks right there. It's a whole different rehab program because you're trying to protect the meniscus.
"I'm happy that Tuck's back and he's in a great shape … I just work every day so I could join those guys."
He also repeated his resolve to come back better than ever. In the four-time All-Pro's mind, it's not a question of if he'll continue to be a double-digit sack machine, but how much more impact he'll make when he returns.
Because he won't be holding back.
"The anger, the frustration, the things that I'm going to have to let out because of how long it's been since I played … that's what people should really worry about," Parsons said. "Like, how great is Micah going to be when he gets back? Not about when I get back."
That remains a bit up in the air, but at this stage he has no concerns and feels good about his progress.
"We're right where we should be," he said. "As a training staff and myself, we're excited and happy where I'm at and just excited to keep working."
