GREEN BAY – Christian Watson was recently chatting with the Packers’ strength and conditioning staff when a simple reality dawned on the fourth-year receiver.
It’s good to be sore again.
“I like being just football sore and not ACL and knee sore,” said Watson on Thursday. “It’s been fun for me to get back to regular football, and I’ve been enjoying it. It’s just good to be back out there.”
Watson is now three games into his return from the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered 10 months ago in the 2024 regular-season finale against Chicago.
The 26-year-old wideout has been doing a little more each week, jumping from 36 snaps during his return in Pittsburgh to 43 against Carolina and then 56 this past Monday vs. Philadelphia.
Those 56 snaps were the most Watson has played in an NFL game since a 56-play outing against the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 19, 2023. So naturally, the wideout was feeling a little sore coming out of the game.
While Watson (knee/hamstring) was listed on the injury report as a limited participant during Thursday’s padded practice, the 6-foot-4, 208-pound receiver told reporters afterwards he’s not injured and fully expects to play Sunday against the New York Giants.
“They just gotta do what they gotta do,” said Watson regarding the Packers’ injury report. “I’m good. I have no worries in terms of where I’m gonna be at for Sunday. Just precautions, I guess, for them.”
Despite the lengthy layoff and no offseason program, Watson is playing like his old explosive self again. He has eight receptions for 188 yards and a robust average of 23.5 yards catch.
Watson made two strong catches in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 10-7 loss to the Eagles – a 22-yard reception to the Philadelphia 13 that was wiped out due to an illegal formation penalty and a 25-yarder on third-and-10 in the final minutes.
Of course, the play on Watson’s mind after the game was a third-and-20 deep ball to the end zone in the first quarter that he wishes he could’ve caught while fighting off Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in coverage.
After the game, Watson responded with a simple “Yes” to a post on X asking whether he could’ve caught the ball. It’s one of two original X posts Watson has had in the last 13 months.
“It came down to me just not being able to get to the landmark that I wanted to get on the route,” Watson said. “I kind of got pushed inside a little bit more than I would’ve liked to on that route. The ball was getting to where it was supposed to go but I had gotten off that landmark. That was really just the main thing.”
