When the Green Bay Packers play their first postseason game on Sunday, they will do it without wide receiver Christian Watson, who suffered a torn ACL in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears.
Christian Watson Suffers Torn ACL
"He'll handle the adversity. It will just be a bump in the road for him, and I think he'll come back better. That's just how he is built. That's how he's wired."
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 6, 2025
Due to his ACL injury, Watson is out for the rest of the season, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur announced on Monday.
“It’s a big-time loss, just his presence on the field alone,” LaFleur said about no longer having Watson for the postseason. “I hurt for him. I obviously hurt for our team, but more for him just because I know how much he’s put into this thing.”
Watson finishes the 2024 campaign with 29 catches for 620 yards and two touchdowns. The third-year pro was the Packers’ best down-the-field threat with a 21.4-yard average catch.
Because of the late timing of the injury, Watson is in jeopardy of missing the start of the 2025 season. LaFleur is not ready to make assumptions about the timetable of Watson’s return just yet.
“I know he’ll attack it the right way,” LaFleur said about Watson’s recovery. “He’ll handle the adversity. It will just be a bump in the road for him, and I think he’ll come back better. That’s just how he is built. That’s how he’s wired.”
The Packers’ remaining pass-catchers include Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, and Luke Musgrave.
Is Jordan Love Healthy?
#JordanLove
By video, right elbow contusion
Possible "funny bone"
No structural worry
Expect next week to be a go@packers may play it safe today pic.twitter.com/dvpPQ7P1m2— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) January 5, 2025
Watson is not the only Packer to suffer an injury in Sunday’s loss. Quarterback Jordan Love left in the second quarter after suffering an elbow injury. Backup Malik Willis played the rest of the game until injuring his throwing hand.
LaFleur believes both quarterbacks will be OK. However, both might be limited in practice this week.
The seventh-seeded Packers hit the road to face the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round. The Packers were in a similar situation last season.
As the No. 7 seed, the Packers went into Dallas for the Wild Card round and beat the Cowboys by a score of 48-32.
The game between the Packers and Eagles will be Sunday, Jan. 12, at 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
