Green Bay Packers rookie receiver Christian Watson doesn’t know when he’ll be back on the field but he’s staying positive about having surgery on his knee while also finding ways to get value from mental reps to start training camp.
Watson detailed the injury and what went into the decision to have the surgery.
“It was something that started bothering me during OTAs,” Watson said Thursday. “Definitely a relief. It wasn’t anything major, really just something that, talking with my agent and the training staff, just something more beneficial to get taking care of, in the long term and the short term. I’m definitely feeling better and better each day.”
Watson doesn’t remember an exact play but said the issue was something that came on late in the offseason workout program. He described it as a “lingering soreness” in the knee while running routes and cutting. After weighing the pros and cons, Watson and the Packers decided to fix the injury before camp.
Watson, the 34th overall pick in the 2022 draft, said he’s improving but doesn’t have a timeline for a return.
Despite the lost time during camp, he’s not regretting the decision. The trade-off for missing practice reps now is that his knee should be healthy and not something that bothers him during the regular season.
“I’m happy with the decision that we made,” Watson said. “Just so it wasn’t something I’d had to worry about, something that wasn’t lingering, something that wasn’t stopping me from performing at the level I want to play at.”
Watson said it’s frustrating to miss the start of his first professional training camp but he’s using the time on the sideline to focus on “mental reps.” Hearing each play and envisioning what he would do on the field in his spot will be his way of learning on the fly without physically playing.
After two practices, Watson remains on the PUP list.
