The season-ending injury suffered by Green Bay Packers superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons in last Sunday’s 34-26 loss to the Denver Broncos clearly impacts at least the short-term outlook of his team. When Green Bay traded for Parsons before the start of the 2025 NFL season, many believed that he was the missing piece for the Packers to win a Super Bowl.
If they are to raise the Vince Lombardi Trophy, they will have to do it without Parsons, as he’s now dealing with a torn ACL injury that will keep him out for the rest of the campaign and perhaps even the early goings of the 2026 season.
ESPN analysts turns heads with wild take on Parsons injury
Parsons suffered the injury while trying to go after Broncos star Bo Nix, and in the eyes of former NFL analyst Ryan Clark, the quarterback being so evasive in the pocket caused the Green Bay pass rusher’s injury.
"Micah Parsons is hurt because of Bo Nix. … The violence in which Micah Parsons had to chase Bo Nix the entire second half was extremely evident."
—Ryan Clark on Bo Nix's performance against the Packers 📈 pic.twitter.com/ZdwJVqvvkg
— ESPN (@espn) December 15, 2025
“Micah Parsons is hurt because of Bo Nix,” Clark said before Monday Night Football’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins (transcribed by Brandon Walker of Broncos Wire).
“And I’m not saying that it’s one of those things that’s Bo Nix’s fault, but the violence in which Micah Parsons had to chase Bo Nix the entire second half was extremely evident. Whether it was the touchdown to [Michael] Bandy, the throw to Troy Franklin. Getting outside the pocket and finding Lil’Jordan Humphrey. You could see that Micah Parsons was the one person in pursuit of Bo Nix the entire day.
“And on the injury and on the play he [Parsons] was hurt, Bo Nix attempted to get outside, he found [Marvin] Mims, and you could see Micah redirect in order to keep him in the pocket. That was part of what he’d seen the entire night, and the way Bo Nix was able to attack that defense — Bo Nix was amazing last night. And it’s sad you lose a great player like Micah Parsons, but it was because of the effort that he to give in order to get to Denver’s quarterback.”
Although Clark elaborated on his point, it did not prevent him from getting ridiculed by fans online.
“Death, taxes, and Ryan Clark talking utter bollocks about football.,” said a fan on X.
Another one said: “ESPN is now the Exaggerated Scandal Pandering Network: Specializing in race-baiting headlines designed to maximize clicks and moral panic
From a commenter: “Somebody get Ryan Clark off the damn screen already.
Even a non contact injury is somehow a white guys fault,” a social media user posted.
Via a different commenter: This is such a lazy and weird take… Injuries are very common this late in the year and unfortunate too….
Said another: How dare Bo Nix play football. This is his fault.
Nix finished with 302 passing yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions while going 23/34 on his passes. He was not sacked even once during the entire contest, but Parsons might have gotten to Nix if his knee did not give out.
Green Bay will look to pass its first test since Parsons’ injury in Week 16 against the Chicago Bears.
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