Christian Watson continues to work his way back from a torn ACL that prematurely ended his 2024 season. While the Packers wideout isn’t expected to take the field until at least next month, the team is still rewarding him with a new contract.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers have signed Watson to a one-year, $13.25MM extension. The receiver was set to play the 2025 season on the final year of his rookie pact, but this extension will now keep him in Green Bay through at least the 2026 season. According to Schefter, the Packers wanted Watson to focus on his return from injury vs. his impending free agent, leading to today’s deal.
A former second-round pick, Watson spent his rookie campaign playing alongside Aaron Rodgers, with his nine touchdowns and 691 yards from scrimmage still representing a career-high. He’s spent the past two seasons serving as one of Jordan Love’s key targets, but Watson has yet to truly break out like the organization may have expected.
The receiver averaged a career-high 46.9 yards per game during the 2023 season, but he was limited to only nine appearances thanks to a pesky hamstring issue. He got into a career-high 15 games last season, but he was limited to a career-low 41.3 yards per game and 47.2 success rate. Watson suffered a torn ACL in the team’s regular season finale, and considering the timing, it was always expected that his recovery time would leak into the 2025 campaign.
_More to come…_