Micah Parsons will be in a race against time. As one NFL reporter noted, it all comes down to whether he can come back by Week 4 of the NFL season.

Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated believes that the Packers may be able to navigate through the first few games without Parsons, who is out with an ACL injury. However, things will likely get tricky.

“While [the Packers are] fortunate to face mediocre passing games to start the season, they could be destroyed if the pass rush gets stuck in quicksand without Parsons to create mayhem,” Huber wrote. “Without a pass rush, the Packers could be buried in a hurry, whether it’s against a journeyman quarterback like [Geno] Smith or a prolific passer like [Dak] Prescott.” 

In the first four weeks, the Packers are set for a matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, the New York Jets, and the Atlanta Falcons. All three of these teams don't have strong starters in the QB spot.

There's uncertainty in Minnesota and Atlanta about who takes the starting role. Geno Smith is coming back after a tough season with the Raiders. The team can get by with Devonte Wyatt and Brenton Cox Jr. in the pass-rush role.

However, as Huber wrote, the Week 5 to 7 stretch will be brutal. The Packers face Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams, the Cowboys’ Prescott, and the Detroit Lions' Jared Goff in Week 5, Week 6, and Week 7, respectively.

All three QBs were among the top-10 passers in the league last season, and Dak Prescott was third in the league with 4,552 yards and 30 touchdowns. Moreover, the Cowboys were able to retain the best receiver duo in the league, with George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb.

And considering that Prescott went for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns while taking on Micah Parsons in the team when the Cowboys last faced the Packers, he could improve on the number this time with Parsons out.

Huber believes that with an unproven group of pass rushers behind Parsons, Prescott could play more from the pocket comfort zone, where he has an edge. However, there's still a way through for the Packers.

Brenton Cox gets opportunity to step up for Packers

Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated noted that linebacker Brenton Cox is expected to be a key contributor alongside LB Lukas Van Ness.

"The secret sauce for this season could be Brenton Cox, who had four sacks in the seven games following the 2024 trade of Preston Smith," Huber wrote.

Cox turned out to be one of the impactful players, recording four sacks and eight solo tackles for 7 games played in the 2024 season.

He is expected to be in the mix with Barryn Sorrell, Collin Oliver, and Dani Dennis-Sutton.

Cox was placed in specific pass-rush packages during the OTAs with the No. 1 unit by defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who believes that he could step up as a starter.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar