I agree on Pickle Ball for Parson's. I have played it and am surprised he was playing it. There are a lot of sudden and unexpected moves that you make when playing. Glad he was not hurt and surprised the pack let him too.

Hello AL, thanks for finally getting some encouraging news on Parsons. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that he comes back 100% and sooner than what has been reported. Having Parsons potentially missing 10 games to start the 2026 season is a real blow to GB having a successful reason. Because of the lack of real NFL production behind him, I am hoping GB signs Clowney to steer us through the first half of the season.

I read this on Athlon today, it really puts a spotlight on why we need immediate help at Edge.
" The Green Bay Packers could be forced to navigate a healthy chunk of the 2026 NFL season without All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons. Parsons missed each of Green Bay's final four games of the 2025 campaign, including its Wild Card loss to the Chicago Bears, and will enter the new year on the team's PUP list.

His absence proved a significant loss for the Packers' defense, which allowed 400 yards in three of its final four games without Parsons, recording just two sacks during that stretch. The front office addressed the void its defense will face without the four-time All-Pro, by signing Javon Hargraves and drafting Dani Dennis Sutton."

While I acknowledge Wyatt was also gone several games before Parsons got hurt, we have already seen a preview of what to expect from the players behind Parsons. They have accomplished very little to nothing as a group. Granted, Gary was on the team but seemed to take an extended vacation from pass rushing the 2nd half of the season. We are placing the weight of the world on these young guys and while I want them to gain valuable experience, I don't want it to be at the expense of losing a bunch of games and tanking the season because of no pass rush.

The options are drying up, but a very reasonable one is still available in Clowney. Why do you suppose we haven't even tried to fill this gap?

I have little doubt the Packer Admin were cringing at the announcement Parsons was playing pickle ball. But I also believe Parsons is the personality type that does what he chooses.
And… I hope Parsons energy/inspiration rubs off on more than Love.
He, Kraft, and Jacobs too, play with fire—reckless abandon. More of that please.
Go Packers!!!

I am glad that there is little news about the Packers during the dead zone except for Kraft having a disagreement about his garbage being picked up.

The thing about Love is he is authentic. I think whenever he does vocalize his displeasure, his teammates will listen. Like Starr, he will pick his spots.

All I can say about Parsons playing pickleball is that I hope he knows what he is doing. Starrbrite makes a valid point above, which is that it may have been entirely his own decision. At any rate, I've abandoned the notion that the Packers are cautious about injuries. In the past few years, we've seen several players come back from injuries only to be immediately re-injured again, and this isn't just hindsight, they did appear to be pushing their luck when they put those players back on the field.

The part about Love's leadership is interesting. My wife has said that Love does not have that spark that inspires his teammates to rally around him. She doesn't follow the Packers to anywhere near the level than I do, and I don't really believe her, but sometimes I wonder if there is some truth to what she says. Maybe Love needs to grow in that area. I don't really know. Even if that is the case, I don't think it's a major issue and is maybe just something that needs a little more refinement. I thought Love's performance in the clutch was better last season, but I can't say the same about the team as a whole.

One of my frustrations this summer is that we haven’t seen Colin Oliver this summer. I’ve been wanting to see him next to Parsons. Why? Oliver tested at 240, Parsons at 246. Parsons has said he bulked up to 260 and got as low as 240 trying to find his best weight, which he believes is his best weight and, unusually, what he’s now listed as (which normally never changes).

We have all tended to see Oliver as a small fry version of Micah, but there’s not a vast amount of difference if Oliver has been active in the weight room. Oliver is 6’2 and Parsons 6’3 (a little over an inch if you use the Centimeters: 188 to 191). However, the gap is not that large in terms of frame that Oliver couldn’t add similar functional mass.

For context, Cox and Mosby weighed 250 at testing, Sorrell and DDS both 256. It’s worth noting that all 3 non-Parsons 250 pounders have held up well in the run game to date. Hence my curiosity about seeing them standing together in summer gear.

Of course, it would be even better to see Oliver practicing consistently, but at least the visual comparative might give us a better perspective of what Oliver can be. Oliver actually tested as more explosive and has a faster 10 yards. A fractional trade off there for bulk would not necessarily be a bad exchange. It seems to me the defining question (after getting on the field) is whether he can replicate that at around 250 having added some bulk and power.

It’s summer, it’s hot, but there are still some football things to muse on, though like Al, I see the best thing at this time of year as being an absence of new off field drama.

LOL, thanks for the trip down memory lane with the Aaron Rodgers "death stares". I kind of miss those....

What I would really like to see Jordan Love do is fill the chemistry void with Doubs now that he is gone. To me, the perfect candidate is Golden. He should feel much more comfortable with the offense in his second year, and with his hands and ability to make extra yards on his own, this could be a special connection for years to come.

I like Parsons. He speaks his mind. Like last year when the defense faded in the second half of games and at the end if the year became of poor conditioning. He forces players to give their best.

Parsons is not Love, Kraft nor Cooper and is being opaque about his healing progress while Kraft is transparent. The problem began long ago with poor drafting and lack of talent on the D-Line. Neither LVN nor Gary have come anywhere close to their Draft status and Wyatt is out for lengthy periods. Parsons was a desperate grab by Gutekunst. All of this was predictable.

As someone who has had ACL surgery twice, Micah playing pickle ball is OUTSTANDING news. The fact that he feels confident enough to do that is awesome. If you haven't been through that, regaining the confidence to move at speed - especially laterally - is far and away the most difficult part of the rehab. It was 9 months before I could do that after my first ACL surgery - and the only reason it happened that quickly was because I was playing with the dog and forgot to be terrified of lateral movement. Physically, I was fine. I had long since been released from the PT program since I had far exceeded their goals for me on every single metric. But mentally, I completely shut down any time I went to move laterally with any speed. Seeing him already at that place mentally is the best possible news, in my experience.