After tearing his ACL in Week 15, amid a stellar first season with the Packers, Micah Parsons went into a pit. He couldn\u2019t be himself as a player or father, restricted to resting on the bed and couch with pain meds. He didn\u2019t feel like eating. He fell into a depression. He watched others live out his dream on the field. “Super Dad, Superman to super nothing,” Parsons told me. The superstar edge rusher opened up about his headspace in the immediate aftermath of his season-ending knee injury and what lies ahead in 2026 in an exclusive phone conversation with me during Pro Bowl and Super Bowl LX festivities in the Bay Area. A three-time All-Pro selection, Parsons spoke with me as a brand ambassador for the NFL Super Bowl Slots mobile game. My full conversation with the Packers star (responses have been condensed and edited for clarity): What would you like the public to know about your partnership with NFL Super Bowl Slots? Parsons: “Super Bowl Slots is the first-ever NFL-licensed free-to-play mobile game. A game that lets fans play free and rep all 32 NFL teams. [You get] NFL energy with the gameplay, including team branding and gameday style. You just have so much free-range and I just think if you love the NFL and you love football, this is literally the best game you can play. \u2026 It\u2019s fun, and it causes you no trouble.” How did your partnership with the game come about? Parsons: “I think they match my style on the field and I match their style. \u2026 I think I\u2019m what they\u2019re looking for off the field, so we\u2019re just going to take the aggressive approach and represent the brand and pushing it out there and letting people know how much I love the game as well.” What are the thoughts on the game itself and what people can expect when they play it? Parsons: “They should expect a game where you can play as much as you want, when you want. It doesn\u2019t matter where you are if you kind of just like that free gambling buzz. I can keep getting coins. I can keep opening packs. I just think that\u2019s the best part of the game. \u2026 You don\u2019t have to wait on any ads. You can just keep learning and going and choose whatever team you like.” Are you a gamer yourself? Parsons:\u00a0“Madden. NCAA. Madden Mobile. Pretty much all those games. \u2026 I\u2019m a big-time gamer.” Let\u2019s pivot to football. It\u2019s been nearly two months since you tore your ACL. How would you describe where your headspace is at this point in your rehab? Parsons: “You know, my headspace is extremely good. Obviously, taking it one day at a time. Getting stronger and better every day. I think mentally, I\u2019m in a headspace where I know I\u2019m getting stronger, I know I\u2019m getting better. It\u2019s just about taking the small wins every day. Embracing it for when it\u2019s time for me to step on the field.” Was there a low point you had to work yourself through? Parsons: “I would say just not being myself. \u2026 Super Dad, Superman to super nothing. I\u2019m on bed rest and couch rest all day. Can\u2019t even get up to take a piss. Just very down on myself. You\u2019re on these pain meds. You\u2019re not feeling like yourself. You\u2019re not eating. You\u2019re depressed. You\u2019re watching people live your dream. “To now, out here at the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, finally being able to walk again and just realizing where I\u2019m at and thanking God every day for the small wins I have. Every week I\u2019ve gotten better to where I\u2019m feeling like myself and I can play with my kids again, and I can be the best man I can possibly be off and on the field.” What did it take to pull yourself out of that dark space? Parsons:\u00a0“For me, [it was like] I can\u2019t stay here, man. I can\u2019t stay here. I was surrounded by a bunch of love between my lady, my kids, my mom. Just so much love that I was just like, \u2018I have to get better for us. I have to get better for my teammates.\u2019 And that\u2019s what it is. A bunch of people convincing you that you can be better, you\u2019re going to get better. “The bright side is I have people going through the journey as well with me. Maybe different injuries, same injuries, knowing that I\u2019m not the only one who\u2019s been through it and I can come over this hump.” Immediately after the season, you were very supportive of coach Matt LaFleur amid the uncertainty about his job status. Knowing that he has been officially extended now, how excited are you knowing that he\u2019ll be your head coach moving forward? Parsons:\u00a0“I\u2019m super excited about that. Matt is my guy. He\u2019s such a great guy. \u2026 We\u2019re going to lead this team to the Super Bowl. I think we have the best coach possible. I hope they\u2019re ready to go when I get back, to put our heads down and just go to work.” What can we expect when you\u2019re back in 2026, whenever you are fully healthy? Parsons: “Everyone will probably say \u2018Was this guy even injured?\u2019 I\u2019m going to hit the ground running and be the best player on the field.” In\u00a0Who Is?, we’ll help you get to know breakout stars, newcomers and more with this Q&A series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After tearing his ACL in Week 15, amid a stellar first season with the Packers, Micah Parsons went into a pit. He couldn\u2019t be himself as a player or father, restricted to resting on the bed and couch with pain meds. He didn\u2019t feel like eating. He fell into a depression. He watched others live<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32092"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32092\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}