NFL Announces Decision on Discipline for Packers’ Micah Parsons

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons heads into Week 8 with 5.5 sacks, riding a surge of momentum from a dominant three-sack performance against the Arizona Cardinals. The Packers will lean on that energy as they face Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers under the lights of “Sunday Night Football.”

Acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 28, the 2021 first-round pick needed time to find his rhythm in Green Bay’s defense. Parsons managed just 2.5 sacks across his first five games with the team.

But in the Packers’ narrow 27-23 victory over Arizona in Week 7, he rediscovered the explosive form that earned him All-Pro honors in Dallas, terrorizing the Cardinals’ offensive line.

One of those sacks, however, came with controversy. In the second quarter, Parsons dropped quarterback Jacoby Brissett using a hip-drop tackle—a move the NFL has aggressively targeted this season due to its potential for causing severe lower-leg injuries.

Officials flagged Parsons on the spot, enforcing a 15-yard penalty that handed the Cardinals a fresh set of downs at their own 40-yard line. Arizona capitalized with a field goal, trimming Green Bay’s lead to 6-3.

The hip-drop tackle has been a league-wide point of emphasis, with fines routinely issued to deter the technique. New York Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, for example, was docked $17,389 for a similar infraction in Week 3. Parsons appeared headed for a comparable financial hit.

Yet, in a rare break for the star pass rusher, the NFL opted against levying a fine.

Howard Balzer of USA Today was the first to reveal the news for Parsons.

“Entering Week 7, there had been nine hip-drop tackles where players were fined no penalties called,” Balzer posted on X. “However, Packers DE Micah Parsons was penalized for one last Sunday against the Cardinals, but there was no fine.”

The decision marks a small victory for Parsons, who just days earlier had voiced frustration over uncalled holding penalties that he believes have plagued his career.

“It’s just one of them things,” Parsons said. “Five years of not getting a call, you eventually stop worrying about it. I think I just got to keep going. That’s the hunt, yeah. That’s part of the challenge is you just got to keep going.”

Now unburdened by a fine and buoyed by his breakout game, Parsons turns his attention to Rodgers and the Steelers. Green Bay will need every bit of his relentless pursuit to disrupt one of the league’s craftiest quarterbacks on a national stage.

After a flagged but unpunished hip-drop and a three-sack explosion, Parsons has reason to believe the officials—and the stat sheet—are finally tilting in his favor.