The Green Bay Packers are bracing for the possibility that they will not have wide receiver Christian Watson available for the NFL playoffs following the non-contact knee injury he sustained in Week 18’s loss to the Chicago Bears.
Watson collapsed while running a route early in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, prompting multiple Bears defenders to signal for medical trainers after the play ended. After trainers spent several minutes attending to him, Watson was carted off the field, covering his face with his hand amid another dark moment in his injury-filled career.
The Packers quickly ruled out Watson for the rest of the game with a knee injury. After the game, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur did not sound optimistic about his outlook.
“I’m not super confident about that right now,” LaFleur said grimily in the postgame.
Watson bruised his left knee during December 23’s shutout win over the New Orleans Saints and missed the following game against the Minnesota Vikings with his injury. He also missed the first two of three practices ahead of the Bears game, but he returned as a limited participant on Friday. The Packers officially listed him as questionable to play on the injury report before giving him the green light to play during Sunday’s pregame.
If Watson’s season is over, he will finish his third year with the Packers with 29 catches for a career-high 620 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He also achieved new career heights in average yards per reception (21.4) and receptions of at least 20 yards (12).
Christian Watson’s Misfortune With Injuries Continue
Watson’s latest injury is a heartbreaker — if for no other reason than he’s been down this road more than once throughout his three-season NFL career with the Packers.
Watson has a checkered history with injuries. He missed most of his first training camp after undergoing a minor knee injury during the 2022 offseason. He sat out three games as a rookie with a hamstring injury and missed part of a fourth with a concussion. Then he missed a career-high eight games in 2023 with more hamstring and knee issues.
Watson seemed to have turned a corner in 2024, though. He spoke in the spring about how he believed he had corrected the issue causing injuries in his hamstring and, to his credit, did not miss time with any hamstring issues this season. He did miss one game with an ankle problem in Week 5, but he bounced back right away the following week.
Unfortunately, Watson could now be looking at another offseason of rehabilitation and recovery if further testing reveals he significantly injured his knee in Sunday’s game. It would also raise questions about his long-term future with the Packers considering that he is entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract in 2025.
Packers Receive Good News on Jordan Love’s Injury
While the Packers are in danger of losing Watson for the playoffs, they do not seem to have the same concerns about starting quarterback Jordan Love, who left in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Bears with an elbow injury and did not return.
LaFleur admitted to reporters in the postgame that Love could have come back into the game if necessary — and almost did after backup quarterback Malik Willis sustained a brutal hit from Chicago safety Kevin Byard III — but they opted to keep him sidelined. On the bright side, both LaFleur and Love himself spoke about the injury in a way that made it seem as though it would not impact his status for their upcoming playoff game.
The Packers will look to avenge their Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles when they face them in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs at 4:30 p.m. E.T. on January 12.
