Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson was on the practice field again on Wednesday, increasing the possibility of him returning from a hamstring injury and playing in Sunday’s home opener against the New Orleans Saints.
Watson, who has missed the first two weeks of the 2023 season, practiced in a limited capacity last Friday but wasn’t yet ready to return on Sunday in Atlanta. He’ll have three more practices to get ready to play against the Saints this week.
Per Mike Spofford of the team’s official site, Watson was wearing a black sleeve on his injured leg during the start of practice Wednesday.
WR Christian Watson back on practice field for #Packers on Wednesday, wearing a black sleeve on his right leg. LB Lukas Van Ness also practicing. RB Aaron Jones went thru stretch but did not come outside for drills. LT David Bakhtiari & LG Elgton Jenkins not practicing. pic.twitter.com/umsDBDklop
— Mike Spofford (@mikespofford) September 20, 2023
Watson originally hurt his hamstring during a practice on Aug. 31, meaning he’s almost three weeks removed from the original injury.
Returning Watson would provide a big boost for a Packers passing game preparing to face one of the NFL’s most experienced and successful defenses. The Saints haven’t allowed more than 20 points in a game since Week 9 of last year. The secondary includes veterans such as Marshon Lattimore, Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye.
The Packers will release the first injury report of Week 3 later Wednesday.
While Watson returned and will likely be listed as limited, expect to see running back Aaron Jones (hamstring) and offensive linemen David Bakhtiari (knee) and Elgton Jenkins (knee) as “did not participate.” Per Spoffrd, Jones did not come out for practice after team stretch, and Bakhtiari and Jenkins weren’t available.
Jones injured his hamstring in Week 1 against the Bears and hasn’t practiced since. Bakhtiari missed Week 2 with a swollen knee, and Jenkins went down with a knee injury in the first half of Week 2.
The Packers will provide injury report updates on Wednesday and Thursday before the final injury report and playing status designations arrive Friday.