The Green Bay Packers got an encouraging update on Thursday regarding the recovery of one of their top young offensive weapons.
Christian Watson suffered an unfortunate ACL tear in the 2024 regular season finale against the Chicago Bears on January 5th.
The injury looked really bad in real time after Watson went to the ground mid-route during a non-contact play. Watson’s injury was reported to be a normal ACL tear, which is good in the context of recovery time. The problem is how late in the season the injury occurred.
With a late-season ACL tear, Watson will be forced to miss the majority of the 2025 season. But, it seems like he’s well ahead of his recovery based on a video he shared Thursday on social media walking on a treadmill.
The timing of Watson’s return is going to be something major to monitor for his future in Green Bay beyond 2025. Since most ACL injuries take around 11 months at best, that’s putting the timeline around late November for his potential return, saying everything goes according to plan in the recovery process.
A few weeks back, our A to Z Sports Green Bay expert Wendell Ferreira explained that if Watson misses the entire 2025 season, his final would toll, pushing the last year of his contract into 2026. If he returns to the field in 2025, he would hit free agency following the season in 2026 and due for a new contract.
Now, of course the Packers would love to have this guy back sooner than later. His impact on this offense is more than evident and more than what’s shown on the box score. The Packers need Watson’s speed sooner than later for this offense to function as creatively as possible.
In the meantime, the Packers are actively searching for long-term upgrades at the position. Adding a guy such as DK Metcalf or Brandon Aiyuk to pair with the rest of the young pass catchers, plus a late-season return of Watson puts this offense in great shape for a late season surge in 2025.
While usual ACL tears take 11 months to return to action, it seems nothing is stopping Watson from beating the odds and returning sooner.
Seeing him back to work and on the treadmill is a very encouraging sign at this point in his recovery timeline and something the Packers will continue to monitor.