Packers’ Christian Watson Out for Season With Torn ACL After Knee Injury vs. Bears

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 6, 2025

Brooke Sutton/Getty Images

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL in Sunday’s 24-22 loss to the Chicago Bears, coach Matt LaFleur announced on Monday.

“Yeah, it’s not good,” LaFleur said, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “He’ll be out for this season or the rest of the year.”

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport initially reported the injury was believed to be a torn ACL.

Not only will Watson miss the entire playoffs, but a torn ACL leaves his status for the 2025 regular season in flux.

Watson went down without contact midway through the second quarter of Green Bay’s Week 18 contest and was eventually carted back to the locker room. After the game, LaFleur could provide specifics about the injury but told reporters he was “not super confident about that right now.”

An injury to Watson’s left knee—he hurt the right one Sunday—had sidelined him in Week 17, when his team lost 27-25 to the Minnesota Vikings.

The 2022 second-round pick was a dynamic downfield threat for the Packers this season. His 21.4 yards per reception were second in the NFL behind the Indianapolis Colts’ Alec Pierce (22.3 yards).

The 33rd Team @The33rdTeamFBChristian Watson going down is a big loss for Jordan Love and the Packers

Love on throws of 30+ air yards when targeting Watson vs. anybody else:

EPA/play: 0.61 vs 0.28
Yards/attempt: 17.4 vs 14
Passer rating: 79.5 vs 69.9

Hoping Watson’s recovery goes smoothly and quickly 🙌 https://t.co/eSdOtrBiGs pic.twitter.com/WM10mD0i1d

Granted, LaFleur may have had to dial back the passing game a bit anyway.

The coach downplayed the extent of the right elbow injury quarterback Jordan Love picked up against the Bears and said the second-year starter could’ve returned if the circumstances required it.

Still, Love didn’t come back into the game and that suggests he wasn’t all the way back to 100 percent. Should this continue to linger into the NFC Wild Card Round, it could hinder his ability to be effective on deeper throws.