It has taken Micah Parsons less than a week to notice a major difference between his new surroundings in Green Bay with the Packers and what he left behind in Dallas.
The All-Pro defensive end, traded from the Cowboys to the Packers in a blockbuster deal, is still nursing a minor back injury that has limited him in practice. But when he showed up to Lambeau Field for treatment on Tuesday, what he saw surprised him.
“I’ve never been in a locker room with guys like this,” Parsons said during his Thursday press conference.
“I came in Tuesday for treatment and I saw like almost every guy in the locker room. I said, ‘This is the first time I’ve ever seen this.’ That just shows how much these guys want to be here.”
Parsons admitted with a grin that Green Bay’s quiet pace of life might have something to do with the turnout, joking, “There’s not much else to do here.”
But he quickly circled back to the point that mattered most to him: the level of buy-in he has witnessed since arriving.
“It’s important to have guys that want to come into the building,” he said. “That makes me excited to come to work.”
A fresh start in Green Bay
The Packers acquired Parsons in exchange for two first-round draft picks and veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark, betting that his ability to wreck games from the edge could transform their defense.
His arrival comes as Green Bay looks to cement itself as the team to beat in the NFC North after a playoff run last season.
While Parsons’ back issue has kept him from a full workload in practice, team officials have downplayed concerns about his availability. Barring any setbacks, he is expected to make his Packers debut on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
That matchup carries extra weight. Detroit is considered Green Bay’s chief rival in the division, and Parsons was brought in specifically to tilt those kinds of games.
His presence alongside Rashan Gary and Preston Smith is already generating buzz that the Packers could boast one of the most feared pass-rushing units in the league.
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