Christian Watson Injury

[PackersMax12]

Christian Watson has has 10 injuries in his career. Half of them have been on his right knee. With a torn ACL to recover from, I wonder if Green Bay is going to continue on with him in 2025.

https://lastwordonsports.com/nfl/2025/0 ... an-watson/

[Pckfn23]

Budding blogger! Welcome!

[APB]

That's a lot of injuries but only this latest ACL tear seems to be of lasting health significance. It seems his visit to the Madison sports lab fixed much of the soft tissue stuff going on.

Players come back from ACL injuries every year. I doubt the Packers make any decision on Watson until they get a good look at him next season when he returns.

BTW...welcome to the forum!

[APB]

Budding blogger! Welcome!

I thought it might be the author of the linked piece. Hakuna matata.

[Acrobat]

Most likely he'll start the year on PUP. Hopefully the Packers will have addressed the WR position prior to the 2025 season to where we don't count on Watson being a piece of the puzzle at all.

But...if we can see some progression with the passing offense, and there's a roster spot for him, no harm in getting him midseason. But hard to really imagine him making an impact.

If we're in a spot going into 2026 where we still need WR help (gosh forbid), then I could see us extending him on a 1 year prove it deal.

[Scott4Pack]

Welcome PM12! Good to have you.

I think there's no doubt that Watson will be welcome next year with open arms. Then, when it comes time to extend his contract, I fully believe the Pack works on that with earnest. Even if he were to lose a step, his speed might compare more to other mortal WRs. Plus, his frame will still give him advantage over many DBs.

[Cdragon]

Welcome Max! If they've hung onto AJ Dillon for a whole year on injured reserve why not hang with a guy who has so much more potential? I agree with the one year roster bonus prove it deal in 26 if his knee looks a lot better than Bakh or Jaire's.

[lupedafiasco]

That goose is cooked. He turns 26 this off-season. Probably spends most of the season on PUP and returns trying to get his feet under him. I am not signing a 27 year old WR who has never been able to stay healthy or amount to anything in the league to any type of deal. He can’t be relied upon to play.

It sucks for him and it’s awful because he seems like a great player with a super supportive father. At some point you just gotta say he’s got the build for it but not the body and move on.

[Yoop]

That goose is cooked. He turns 26 this off-season. Probably spends most of the season on PUP and returns trying to get his feet under him. I am not signing a 27 year old WR who has never been able to stay healthy or amount to anything in the league to any type of deal. He can’t be relied upon to play.

It sucks for him and it’s awful because he seems like a great player with a super supportive father. At some point you just gotta say he’s got the build for it but not the body and move on.

If the knee causes him to lose a step, then he's just another very athletic player with not much else to rely on, he's not a great route runner, so it will come down to contested catch ability, and those types are too easily available to pay big money for, I agree use another top resource on a WR in the next draft.

[TheSkeptic]

The last thing the Packers needed was this injury. The Packers needed to spend their 1st round pick on a CB, not a WR.

There is no way Watson should have been on the field. With a big brace on his other knee. This is the most incompetent management decision I have seen the Packers make in my 76 years on this planet. Worse than Hadl, worse than Mandrich, worse than moving Gillingham to the Dline where he blew up his knee, worse than passing on Randy Moss. And for you young fans, worse than turning down Denver's offer of 2 1sts and 2 2nd round picks in order to keep Aaron Rodgers 1 more year, destroying the salary cap and missing the playoffs.

All those other mistakes were gambles that failed. All were unlikely to result in anything good but there was a chance. Playing Watson was all risk and no possible reward.

Fire MLF. He is the greatest idiot in football.

[go pak go]

My only two cents on the Watson injury.

I heard MLF say that Doubs's illness did impact the decision to play Watson. I very much disagree with that. An illness to 87 should have had no bearing to Watson playing or not playing in a Week 18 matchup with little standings upside. The fact they were considering sitting him but then didn't tells me they should have sat him.

[musclestang]

I’m not going to lament the decision to play or not, it doesn’t matter. His knee was going to be an issue on that play, in practice, walking down some stairs, etc. it was not going to last long.

I’m pretty confident we’d be looking at the same scenario heading into next year as we are right now after the Eagles game.

[NCF]

That goose is cooked. He turns 26 this off-season. Probably spends most of the season on PUP and returns trying to get his feet under him. I am not signing a 27 year old WR who has never been able to stay healthy or amount to anything in the league to any type of deal. He can’t be relied upon to play.

It sucks for him and it’s awful because he seems like a great player with a super supportive father. At some point you just gotta say he’s got the build for it but not the body and move on.

I won't close the book on it, but I tend to agree. I also think you can get that skill set, a la MVS, later in the Draft (and the offense DOES need that skill set with the rest of the cast they have). High 2nd-round pick, he may end up a swing and a miss, but I appreciate what they were trying to do. Also, given his skill set coming in, he really evolved into a force as a blocker. Credit to him for not being a diva bitch and doing what he could to help the team.

[Labrev]

I think Watson has a fighting chance. I'd give him a "bet on myself"-deal after next season if no one overpays for him (a big if, though). I thought he showed improvement in his route-running this year, and as bad as that one drop was, he has otherwise been a lot better at catching it. By all accounts he works hard.

And yeah with these leg injuries, you always worry about losing speed, but then it's like... Watson is so damn fast that even if he runs a 0.15 slower 40, he's still pretty frickin fast, while also being 6'5/200. Bo Melton said that Watson's low-4.3 time was actually slow for him, and that he actually has 4.2 speed.

I'd treat him like a lottery ticket, definitely not counting on the payoff, but if the price isn't crazy and I have money to spare, I'm in.

[YoHoChecko]

Yeah I do think unless he comes back for the back half of next year and looks like a star for half a season, the mostly likely scenario is a very modest 1-year deal after the rookie contract expires and that stinks for him, but I do think my stance shifts now from "extend him early" to "get that extra year with a prove-it deal"

And yes, it does mean that a big, physical receiver who runs in the low-mid 4.3s is now a potential draft option, if one happens to exist in the right range. There aren't typically a ton of them