Packers WR Christian Watson Suffered Torn ACL vs. Bears

The Green Bay Packers suffered a critical blow to their playoff hopes when big-play receiver Christian Watson suffered a torn ACL on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) is tended to after sustaining a knee injury against the Chicago Bears. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Adding injury to insult, Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson suffered a torn ACL during Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears, coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport broke the news earlier in the day, adding that Watson sustained “additional damage” to his right knee.

“I obviously hurt for our team, but more for him just because I know how much he’s put into this thing, just like all our guys, and you never want to see that,” LaFleur said. “It’s an unfortunate part of our game but, like I told him, I know he’ll attack it the right way. 

“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 how he's wired, and so I do think there'll be good. It's just going to be down the road.”

During the second quarter, Watson was making a move on a route when he tumbled to the turf in a noncontact injury.

Watson suffered an injured left knee two weeks ago against the Saints. He was out for the loss at Minnesota last week and didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday before the Chicago game. He practiced on Friday and was questionable.

Fellow receiver Romeo Doubs was inactive due to illness on Sunday, which thrust Watson into the lineup, LaFleur said after the game.

Whether the previous injury to his left knee had anything to do with the ACL injury to his right knee is unknowable. It might not have factored at all; though it’s possible Watson altered his gate to compensate for the injury.

“I never want to say one event impacts the other event,” LaFleur said on Monday.

What’s undeniable is this is a horrendous blow to the Packers’ offense with a Sunday wild-card game at the Philadelphia Eagles on the horizon.

Without Watson against the Vikings, Green Bay’s passing game – and the offense as a whole – was unproductive for three quarters.

Without Watson for the final three quarters against Chicago, the passing game sputtered again.

In terms of yards per attempt, quarterback Jordan Love’s lowest outputs of the season were against the Bears on Sunday (5.8), the Vikings last week (6.2) and the Saints the week before (6.5).

Watson is only sixth on the team in receptions but his impact is undeniable. When the Packers eked past the lowly Bears in Week 11, Watson’s four receptions for 150 yards were a major reason why. Without Watson in the rematch, the passing game struggled with Love and backup Malik Willis.

“That’s a tough one,” Love said after the game. “Just seeing it on the field, him going down noncontact like that, it’s tough. It’s really tough, especially Christian trying to bounce back from what he’s been dealing with. To be able to go out there and have that happen, it’s tough. I feel for Christian.

“But, at the same time, it’s that same mindset we’ve talked about before. It’s next man up. So, other guys are going to have to step up and play a huge role. Like I’ve said before, we have a deep receivers room. Malik (Heath) had that big-time catch right there at the end, so that’s what it’s going to be. Guys are going to have to step up and make plays.”

Watson caught 29 passes for 620 yards and two touchdowns this season. Among all receivers with 50-plus targets, Watson ranked second with 21.4 yards per catch.

The timing is terrible, and not just for the Packers.

Even under an optimistic timeline of nine months, Watson will miss at least the first month of next season. Given the rigors of the position, it’s possible he won’t even begin practicing until October.

With Watson entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, the injury almost certainly will impact him in free agency after next season.

“He was in pain,” running back Josh Jacobs said. “Seeing his face and talking to him in here, just trying to be encouraging for whatever he has going on. I know it hurts us as an offense, but I’m really more so caring about him as a man. So, I’m going to check in with him tonight and make sure he’s doing all right.”

What can Jacobs say to ease that pain?

“It’s not much you can really say,” he said. “It’s something that he’s going to have to go through, but the thing is you’ve just got to make sure he don’t get down on himself. Whatever his process looks like, make sure he attacks it and is in the right state of mind mentally.”

With a rare combination of size and speed, Watson is probably the most irreplaceable member of Green Bay’s receiver corps.

Watson has seven catches on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield. Jayden Reed has been superb on those, catching 12-of-15, according to Pro Football Focus. However, Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton and Malik Heath have caught a combined 10-of-37.

Even when he’s not on the field, defenses have to account for him. When Watson is either out of limited to less than 20 snaps, they are 8-11. When he plays at least 50 snaps, they are 8-4.

“Christian is a phenomenal player,” Love said. “So, other guys will have to step up and fill that void, and I’m confident those guys in that receiver room will be just fine doing that. But, yeah, it’s a tough loss.”

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