Green Bay Packers star pass rusher Micah Parsons has sacked a lot of quarterbacks in his career, but Aaron Rodgers isn't one of them. At least, not yet.
Sunday marks Parsons' second opportunity to play against Rodgers, and potentially his last. The two faced off first in 2022, the Packers won 31-28 in overtime, and Parsons was held without a sack and only pressured the future Hall of Fame quarterback once.
Still, Rodgers asked to swap jerseys with him as a second-year player after that game, according to The Athletic's Matt Schneidman.
"To me, it's a great sign of respect," Parsons said, via The Athletic. "Just the type of guy he is, that he could recognize such a young player in the league, so I have nothing but respect for him and he's become one of my favorite players just because of that moment."
Micah Parsons' best career performance sets the stage for one last shot at Aaron Rodgers
Parsons is coming off his best game as a professional, the first three-sack performance of his electric, if not young, career. Still, Rodgers comes into the contest having been sacked just nine times. The Steelers shut out Myles Garrett recently, and they'll look to do the same to Parsons this Sunday night.
"He's 1-0 against me for sure. I never got him either," Parsons said. "I'm excited to play him. Rodgers, he's one of my favorite quarterbacks of all time."
Every pass rusher relishes the opportunity to sack great quarterbacks. It's why the aforementioned Garrett typically decorates a graveyard with the names of notable quarterbacks etched into the tombstones around Halloween each year. Parsons isn't much different, boasting about the need to sack Joe Flacco ahead of the Cleveland game this year.
But this could well be Parsons' only shot to bring Rodgers to the turf or to even the score in the win-loss bracket. Rodgers is nearly 42 years old, and all signs indicate that this will be his final season. And even if he does return for a surprising 22nd season next year, the only meeting between Pittsburgh and Green Bay would have to be in the Super Bowl.
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On paper, Parsons should have no issues getting to Rodgers. The Steelers have a wildly inexperienced offensive line, highlighted by left tackle Broderick Jones, who has allowed four of the nine sacks Rodgers has taken this season. Still, that unit has kept Rodgers upright in each of the past two games and in half of their games to date.
Rodgers himself is helping with that effort. No quarterback is getting the ball out of his hands faster, and he even showed some scrambling ability against the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday. Though against Parsons and the speedy Packers' defense, expect Rodgers to rely on quick delivery rather than scrambling.
The pressure is on Parsons ahead of the game to wreak havoc in the pocket and make sure that Green Bay doesn't lose to its former quarterback in what will likely be their only meeting.