From ‘on the couch getting fat’ to ‘one of the best situations’: Watkins ‘trying to revive’ career in Green Bay

This offseason, after getting hurt again last season and not catching a pass after Week 13 in his lone campaign with the Baltimore Ravens, former Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins was sitting on the couch legitimately worried that his NFL career …

This offseason, after getting hurt again last season and not catching a pass after Week 13 in his lone campaign with the Baltimore Ravens, former Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins was sitting on the couch legitimately worried that his NFL career could over, and he wouldn’t get signed by another team following yet another season in which he was injured – something that has unfortunately been a common theme throughout his career.

“Last year I got hurt again, and I’m thinking, I’m sitting on the couch like, ‘Man, I’m going to be out of a job,’” Watkins said to the media Wednesday. “… After injury after injury, you kinda get worried. What is my destiny? What team is going to pick me up?”

But then, just when he thought an NFL team might not come calling, he did in fact get a call – and it was from one of the league’s most historic and successful franchises in the Green Bay Packers.

“I’m thinking like, ‘Man, I’m on the couch getting fat. I’m at 220 pounds. Like, man, am I going to ever get that call?’” Watkins said. “And then to get the call, it’s definitely changed my whole outlook on coming into this season and how I want to play, and I just can’t wait to get started.”

The Packers ended up signing Watkins to a one-year deal in April, and he is certainly grateful to be in Green Bay, where he hopes to revive what has been an injury plagued career since he was drafted in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.

“Things happen. I can’t stop injuries – what I can try to do is prevent them,” Watkins said. “I think my career has been pretty good. I’ve got a Super Bowl. But I’m here trying to revive my career and play at the highest level and be the best I can.”

Due to a slew of different injuries, Watkins hasn’t played in more than 14 games in any of his NFL seasons with the Bills (2014-16), Los Angeles Rams (2017), Kansas City Chiefs (2018-20) and Ravens (2021), and he has only one 1,000-yard receiving season, which came with the Bills in 2015 (1,047).

Still, Watkins has had a productive NFL career overall, totaling 348 receptions for 5,059 yards and 34 touchdowns in 99 games (91 starts), and he was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV championship team in 2019.

While Watkins told reporters Wednesday that his career “hasn’t been what I projected it to be,” he feels he’s in a great spot with a prestigious organization in the Packers surrounded by head coach Matt LaFleur and a future Hall of Famer in quarterback Aaron Rodgers to catch passes from.

“I told coach, ‘My back is against the wall,’” Watkins said. “My career hasn’t been what I projected it to be. It’s a great opportunity for me to come here, play hard, catch a ton of balls, compete at the highest level and win games. And fight to stay healthy — that’s been the knock on my career, was staying on the field, and I think this is the best place to stay healthy and stay on the field and catch a lot of balls.”

“I think this is probably one of the best situations I’ve probably ever been in my career,” he added, “to come play with one of the best quarterbacks in the league, one of the best coaches, one of the best organizations and probably the winningest organization in the league, and to get this opportunity is really a blessing. Because I did nothing last year, I was hurt, and to get a call from Matt and this organization kind of revived me, and hopefully I can have a healthy season and play hard and win a ton of games.”

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

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