{"id":40051,"date":"2025-12-19T12:37:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T12:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051"},"modified":"2025-12-19T12:37:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T12:37:04","slug":"breaking-how-packers-christian-watson-went-from-the-hospital-to-likely-playing-vs-bears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : How Packers\u2019 Christian Watson went from the hospital to likely playing vs. Bears"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2025\/12\/18215516\/USATSI_27817490-scaled-e1766112934555-1024x683.jpg?width=1248&amp;quality=70&amp;auto=webp\" \/><\/p>\n<p>GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2014 There\u2019s no legitimate silver lining when your best player tears his ACL, but losing only Micah Parsons for the season is at least better than losing Parsons <em>and<\/em> Christian Watson for an extended time.<\/p>\n<p>That nightmare scenario for the Green Bay Packers appeared possible during last Sunday\u2019s game against the Denver Broncos, after Watson and then Parsons went down in the third quarter of the Packers\u2019 34-26 loss.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for Green Bay, Parsons\u2019 injury was as serious as it appeared when everyone saw a pop in his left knee despite a lack of contact while pressuring quarterback Bo Nix. Watson\u2019s injury didn\u2019t look great, either, as he clutched the area near his left shoulder after hitting the ground while cornerback Patrick Surtain II intercepted a deep ball intended for Watson.<\/p>\n<p>The Packers\u2019 top receiver over the past two months left the stadium during the game for imaging at a local hospital. Watson said Wednesday that the team was initially concerned about dislocated ribs, though his shoulder hurt more at first and then his chest once he sat up on the field. He flew home with the team and was listed on Tuesday\u2019s injury report estimation with chest and shoulder injuries.<\/p>\n<p>However, Watson was back at practice Wednesday, three days after his hospital visit, and appears on track to play in a pivotal game against the Chicago Bears on Saturday night. He said the eventual diagnosis was a relief and that he is in better physical condition than he anticipated Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A lot on the line for Saturday Night Football <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7B4ReAQTeE\">pic.twitter.com\/7B4ReAQTeE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Green Bay Packers (@packers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/packers\/status\/2001729177477857553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll probably just have something in my pads for game day just to be cautious. \u2026 Honestly, it\u2019s feeling pretty good for everything considered, so I think it\u2019ll be all right for the game,\u201d Watson said. \u201cObviously, I gotta make sure that they clear me in the medical room and everything and make sure everything\u2019s good, but I mean, yeah, my goal is just to have a couple good days leading up to the game, and hopefully it feels a little bit better each and every day. And we\u2019re at the point in the season where you gotta fight through some stuff, so should be good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Watson said he got through a \u201cdecent chunk\u201d of Wednesday\u2019s practice before being listed as limited, which was also his designation Thursday. He\u2019s officially listed as questionable to play Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>On ESPN\u2019s \u201cGet Up\u201d on Thursday morning, host Mike Greenberg posed a question to analyst Dan Orlovsky: \u201cIs Jordan Love good enough right now to carry this team to a Super Bowl without Micah Parsons?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs long as he has Christian Watson, yes,\u201d Orlovsky said.<\/p>\n<p>If Watson remains the same receiver he was in his first two months back from rehabbing a torn ACL suffered last January, the Packers offense will be that much more potent and capable of singlehandedly winning Green Bay any game, even without its best defensive player.<\/p>\n<p>From weeks 8 to 14, before Watson got hurt in Week 15 against the Broncos, he was plain and simple one of the league\u2019s best wide receivers. He ranked tied for 11th in the league in receiving yards in his first seven games back, tied for fourth in touchdown catches, fourth in yards per reception and fourth in expected points added per target, according to TruMedia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe poses some speed matchups when he gets the ball in his hand, and he\u2019s able to do some cool things,\u201d Love said. \u201cWe\u2019ve played a good amount of games this season without him, so we\u2019ve got plenty of playmakers at the receiver position and guys who can make plays if he wasn\u2019t able to go. But he\u2019s done some great things since he\u2019s been back and just adds another explosive element to our offense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Watson was one of a whopping 10 players listed as questionable on Green Bay\u2019s game status report Thursday.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Packers list Josh Jacobs &amp; Christian Watson among 10 players questionable<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Green Bay Packers (@packers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/packers\/status\/2001754090016248289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The others included running backs Josh Jacobs (knee\/ankle) and Chris Brooks (neck), right tackle Zach Tom (back\/knee), safety Evan Williams (knee), wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), offensive lineman Darian Kinnard (neck), and defensive ends Kingsley Enagbare (illness), Brenton Cox Jr. (groin) and Collin Oliver (hamstring). Tight end Josh Whyle (concussion) was ruled out.<\/p>\n<p>The most notable players on that list are Jacobs, Tom and Williams.<\/p>\n<p>Jacobs, listed with knee and ankle injuries, said he\u2019s also dealing with thigh bruising. He didn\u2019t practice this week, which differs from his schedule last week of practicing in a limited capacity Friday before playing Sunday. Jacobs reinjured his left knee early in that game, but it\u2019ll take a village to hold the heart and soul of the Packers out in a game of this magnitude. Jacobs said Tuesday that he\u2019ll try to play, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s harder to watch games than it is to play hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a couple times since I\u2019ve been here where we (Jacobs and coach Matt LaFleur) kind of clashed on if they was going to allow me to play or not, and every time I had a pretty good game,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cI think he\u2019s probably to the point where he\u2019s like, \u2018Man, I\u2019m just going to trust you. If you say you can do it and you believe that you can do it, then I\u2019m going to let you go.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tom is the Packers\u2019 best offensive lineman, and he didn\u2019t practice this week, either. LaFleur said the team would give Jacobs and Tom until inactives are due at 5:50 p.m. CT on Saturday to prove they can play. Tom said Thursday that his status will \u201cmore than likely\u201d come down to how his knee feels when he wakes up Saturday. If he doesn\u2019t play, the Packers will likely start either Kinnard or 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan at right tackle. Morgan hasn\u2019t played right tackle since Week 3, and in recent weeks, rookie second-round pick Anthony Belton has fully displaced him at right guard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would consider anything. We\u2019ll see,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cEverything\u2019s up in the air, and you guys will have the pleasure of seeing what we do on Saturday night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williams said Wednesday that he likely wouldn\u2019t play if he didn\u2019t practice this week, which he didn\u2019t. Assuming he doesn\u2019t play because of the sprained MCL he suffered in Denver on the same play in which Parsons tore his ACL, special teams ace Zayne Anderson would start alongside Xavier McKinney instead. Anderson has played only 22 defensive snaps this season, and 20 came in Denver after Williams\u2019 injury.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought Zayne did a really nice job in the game,\u201d defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. \u201cZayne\u2019s a guy who\u2019s played great on special teams. Zayne\u2019s a guy who\u2019s smart. He\u2019s been in the league for a while. Total confidence in Zayne. One hundred percent. \u2026 It\u2019s still a developmental league in a lot of regards, and we gotta get guys ready to go, and that\u2019s a great example of what (defensive backs coach) Ryan Downard and D.A. (defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley) have done to make sure Zayne was ready to go in that moment, and he did a nice job.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watson is among 10 players listed as questionable for the Packers ahead of Saturday night&#8217;s pivotal game in Chicago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[48],"class_list":["post-40051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-bay-packers","tag-green-bay-packers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING : How Packers\u2019 Christian Watson went from the hospital to likely playing vs. Bears - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : How Packers\u2019 Christian Watson went from the hospital to likely playing vs. Bears - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Watson is among 10 players listed as questionable for the Packers ahead of Saturday night&#039;s pivotal game in Chicago.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-19T12:37:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/green-bay-bau-39.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051\",\"name\":\"BREAKING : How Packers\u2019 Christian Watson went from the hospital to likely playing vs. Bears - Breaking News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/green-bay-bau-39.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-19T12:37:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-19T12:37:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/green-bay-bau-39.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/green-bay-bau-39.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING : How Packers\u2019 Christian Watson went from the hospital to likely playing vs. Bears\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"Breaking News\",\"description\":\"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\",\"name\":\"MrKen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrKen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING : How Packers\u2019 Christian Watson went from the hospital to likely playing vs. Bears - Breaking News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING : How Packers\u2019 Christian Watson went from the hospital to likely playing vs. Bears - Breaking News","og_description":"Watson is among 10 players listed as questionable for the Packers ahead of Saturday night's pivotal game in Chicago.","og_url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051","og_site_name":"Breaking News","article_published_time":"2025-12-19T12:37:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/green-bay-bau-39.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MrKen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrKen","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051","name":"BREAKING : How Packers\u2019 Christian Watson went from the hospital to likely playing vs. Bears - Breaking News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/green-bay-bau-39.png","datePublished":"2025-12-19T12:37:04+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-19T12:37:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/green-bay-bau-39.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/green-bay-bau-39.png","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40051#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING : How Packers\u2019 Christian Watson went from the hospital to likely playing vs. Bears"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/","name":"Breaking News","description":"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15","name":"MrKen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrKen"},"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40051"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40053,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40051\/revisions\/40053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}