The Detroit Lions open their 2025 NFL season on the road against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeu Field.
Dan Campbell’s squad are currently 2.5-point betting underdogs against their NFC North division rival, according to DraftKings sportsbook.
Prior to the NFC North battle, the Packers made one of the biggest blockbuster trades in recent memory, acquiring outside linebacker Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys.
“Y’all don’t understand how excited I am to be here. I hope they understand the type of player that’s going to come into this building every day to get better. And I understand what Kenny (Clark) meant to this organization. I’m never going to try to replace him,” Parsons said. “I just want to try to sustain the standard that he left here and his print that he left and the same with the other prestigious guys that came into this program.”
To what degree Parsons will have an impact on the opening game is yet to be determined.
He missed training camp practices due to back tightness and due to a contract dispute with the team that made him the 12th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Packers now feature a formidable pass-rush, with Parsons and Rashan Gary tasked with bringing down and sacking opposing quarterbacks.
Parsons recorded 12 sacks last season and has 52.5 career sacks.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated the Cowboys were still able to land a productive player in Clark, but is still taking a significant amount of heat for not being able to keep a player who has been productive his entire career.
“I did not want to be in a position where I was missing opportunities, not only to feed my family, but like I said, the brotherhood,” Parsons told reporters. “Them guys wanted me on the field as bad as I wanted to be on the field. They look at me as a big brother, like, ‘He needs to be out there. I know we know we can win with him. I know what he can do out there.’ So yeah, I was worried about that, but now that’s resolved.”
The 26-year-old will begin to ramp up physical activities prior to the Week 1 contest.
“I think physically, you know, I’m great. I think I can contribute a lot. I’m going to team up with the doctors in creating a plan,” said Parsons. “We already talked about how we can ramp things up and get me into a flow where they feel comfortable and I feel comfortable.”
