Christian Watson's new health update from Packers gives fans a clearer picture of the situation
There isn't a specific date for wide receiver Christian Watson to return to the field. He won't practice throughout training camp, and will possibly start the regular season on the physically unable to perform list, missing the first four games of the year. But the Green Bay Packers are pleased with his recovery process.Before the […]
There isn't a specific date for wide receiver Christian Watson to return to the field. He won't practice throughout training camp, and will possibly start the regular season on the physically unable to perform list, missing the first four games of the year. But the Green Bay Packers are pleased with his recovery process.
Before the first day of training camp practice on Wednesday, general manager Brian Gutekunst talked about Watson and how he's looking less than seven months after tearing his ACL against the Chicago Bears in January.
"[Christian Watson looks] Great. Yeah, he's kind of a freak, you know," Gutekunst mentioned. "He did a run test the other day and looked great. Again, it's an ACL, and it's his second one, so we're going to take our time with it. I'm sure there's going to be a time where he's really pressing to get out there, but he's doing great."
PUP rules
At this moment, Christian Watson is on the active/PUP list, which means he can be activated at any point before the regular season. If he's to miss the first month of the season anyway, the Packers can move him to the reserve/PUP list on cutdown day, so he wouldn't count against the initial 53-man roster—and would miss at least the first four games, against the Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys.
The Packers could open his 21-day practice window following that, and after three weeks the team had to make a final call about activating him or moving him to the injured reserve.
However, the team is not forced to open the practice window after three weeks, and Watson could spend more time on the PUP. Usually, the Packers tend to wait ten months for players with ACL injuries to return, putting the wide receiver in position to play in early November.
There is a curious extra element that applies to Watson, even though it's an unlikely one. Because he is in the final year of his deal, if Watson spends the entire season on PUP and is never activated, his contract will toll to 2026. That means he would be under contract for next year, with the same $1.965 million base salary.
Players who weren't on the field on Wednesday:
- LB Quay Walker (ankle)
- WR Christian Watson (knee)
- CB Micah Robinson (knee)
- EDGE/LB Collin Oliver (hamstring)
- RB Amar Johnson (hamstring)
- G John Williams (back)
- C Elgton Jenkins (back)
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