The Packers’ defense could be getting a major boost.

Linebacker Micah Parsons, who suffered a torn ACL in December 2025, seems to be moving closer to a return.

Parsons remains on the reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list. The Packers can open a three-week practice window at any time. At the end of the three weeks, he must either move to the 53-man roster or return to the PUP list and not play this season.

On Tuesday, coach Matt LaFleur was asked whether Parsons will return to practice next week.

“I sure hope so,” LaFleur said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. As Demovsky notes, LaFleur’s previous responses to that question “had been a hard no.”

Parsons tore his ACL on December 14, the same day Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered the same injury. But it’s very different for a quarterback and a front-seven defender. Parsons will be constantly navigating plenty of bodies and limbs, which inevitably will be hitting his legs and knees. He needs to be sure that he’ll have the confidence in the repaired ACL before he takes the field again.

Green Bay could use the boost defensively. At 4-3, they host the Panthers on Thursday night. After that, they face the Patriots and Vikings before the Week 11 bye.

Given the three-week practice window, a return next week could mean that Parsons will return in Week 12, when the Packers visit the Rams in the NFL’s first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game.