The Green Bay Packers’ wide receiver room is in a state of disarray to start Week 8, but there is some good news coming out of Wednesday: rookie Christian Watson returned to practice after missing the last two weeks with a hamstring injury.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Watson would be “limited,” and reporters on scene at practice confirmed he was participating during available viewing periods.
Watson, the 34th overall pick in the 2022 draft, injured his hamstring while running a route against the New York Giants in London and hasn’t played since. Wednesday’s practice will be his first – even in a limited capacity – since the injury.
While not a guarantee, Watson’s return on Wednesday does provide some optimism that he could play Sunday in Buffalo. The Packers didn’t put him on injured reserve, suggesting the team believed he could be back within the four-week timeframe all players face when going on injured reserve.
The Packers could use him. Randall Cobb is on injured reserve, Allen Lazard is dealing with a shoulder injury and didn’t practice Wednesday, and Sammy Watkins only just came off injured reserve and was on a snap count last week.
Watson is still inexperienced in the offense after dealing with three different lower-body injuries since the start of training camp, but his return would provide a big jolt of speed to the offense in general, especially in the jet-motion role but also potentially as a deep threat.
Over four games, Watson has seven catches for 52 yards plus three rushes for 19 yards and a score.
His rookie season is off to a slow start. Without a 25-yard catch on the final play of the Packers’ Week 1 loss to the Vikings, Watson has just six catches on 10 targets for 25 yards. He also dropped what would have been a 75-yard touchdown to open the season opener at U.S. Bank Stadium. His biggest play has been a 15-yard touchdown run on a jet motion handoff against the Patriots.
Could sheer necessity at the receiver position finally get Watson the opportunities he needs to get his rookie season off the ground? He needs a fully healed hamstring first. Wednesday’s return to practice was a good start.
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