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After Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson tore his ACL last season, it has been a long recovery process to make a swift return this upcoming season. With the Packers losing to the New York Jets in the preseason opener, general manager Brian Gutekunst would give an update about the injury to Watson.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Gutekunst would go over the likely plan the team will go through with Watson, which is putting him on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list to start the season. After the minimum four-game stay, Watson will be “chomping at the bit” to return, according to Matt Schneidman.
“Brian Gutekunst says Christian Watson will likely start the season on PUP,” Schniedman wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “After those four games are up? Gutekunst says Watson will be ‘chomping at the bit' to return then. ‘It’s gonna take a lot of us to hold him back.'”
This wouldn't be the first time Gutekunst gave an update regarding Watson, as he said on July 23 that his recovery has been “great” this past offseason and how much of a “freak” athlete he is, via Ryan Wood.
“Brian Gutekunst says Christian Watson's rehab from torn ACL is going ‘great' this offseason: ‘He's a freak,'” Wood wrote on X. “‘He did a run test the other day and looked great. It's an ACL, so we're going to take our time with him, but he's pressing to get out there.'”
Packers' Christian Watson was predicted to have “accelerated” recovery
Despite the severity of tearing an ACL, there are many within the football world who believe the recovery of the Packers receiver is bonkers due to the progress he is making. There were even reports that the recovery process would likely be “accelerated,” according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
“Watson will probably not step on the field during training camp,” Demovsky wrote in late July. “But monitoring his rehab from left ACL surgery in January could provide a hint at when he might be able to play again. What originally looked like a mid-November return at best could be accelerated. The fourth-year receiver was already running routes in early June.
“Even before that, head coach Matt LaFleur said Watson seemed to be rolling along at a good pace, ‘doing outstanding. I would say he's ahead of schedule,” Demovsky continued.
Last season, Wastson recorded a career-high with 620 yards to go along with 29 catches and two touchdowns in 15 games, though when he returns, he'll come back to a busy room with rookie Matthew Golden, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and others. At any rate, Green Bay is looking to improve after finishing with an 11-6 record, which put them third in the NFC North.
