Micah Parsons was injured in the third quarter against the Broncos. Isaiah J. Downing / Imagn Images
Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons was ruled out Sunday against the Denver Broncos after exiting in the third quarter with a non-contact knee injury. Multiple media reports on Sunday evening indicated that Parsons suffered a torn ACL, but that has not been made official by the Packers as they await MRI results.
Parsons was on the ground for a while, being attended to by athletic trainers after going down while chasing Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. He eventually got up and walked to the locker room with assistance.
The Packers also lost wide receiver Christian Watson to a chest injury earlier in the third quarter. Watson was injured when a pass intended for him was intercepted by Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain. The Packers trailed the Broncos 27-23 when the fourth quarter began.
The impact of losing Parsons
We don’t know the official diagnosis for Parsons’ knee injury, but it didn’t look good. Losing him for the season would be a crushing blow to the Packers’ Super Bowl hopes. He’s arguably been the second-best defensive player in the NFL this season behind the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett.
Parsons’ face after his non-contact left knee injury spoke volumes, as did his teammates taking a knee and Broncos players coming over to wish him well as he left the field. Parsons needed the assistance of two trainers to limp off the field and then into the locker room. You could argue that Parsons is even more irreplaceable than quarterback Jordan Love, and the Packers already lost one of their most important players in tight end Tucker Kraft for the season to a Week 9 torn ACL. — Matt Schneidman, Packers beat writer
Entering Week 15, Parsons ranked tied for third in the NFL with 12.5 sacks, third in total pressures with 74 and second in pressure percentage (19.2 percent), according to TruMedia. He had rejuvenated a Packers pass rush that couldn’t consistently get home with four last season, after which defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich was fired.
The Packers’ acquisition of Parsons on the eve of the season, in one of the sport’s most seismic trades ever, injected life into not only Green Bay’s defense but also its locker room and the fan base. Parsons had been everything the Packers hoped when they shipped off their next two first-round picks and franchise cornerstone Kenny Clark. Now, they hope his knee injury isn’t as serious as it appeared.
This story will be updated.
