Ahead of the Sunday Night Football matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium, the Green Bay Packers are getting a major boost offensively.
Veteran wide receiver Christian Watson, who has missed the entire season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season, has been activated from the Reserve/Physically Unable To Perform list and will make his season debut in Week 8.
To clear room for Watson on the 53-man roster, the Packers released TE Ben Sims, and elevated defensive lineman Arron Mosby from the practice squad to the active/inactive roster.
The Packers announced the moves just moments ago on X.
We have activated Christian Watson
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 25, 2025
Watson stated earlier in the week that his plan and his goal was to play Sunday night against the Steelers, getting back into action within his 21-day window to be activated.
The veteran receiver previously returned to practice on Oct. 6, just under 250 days since tearing his ACL on January 5 in Week 18 of the season against the Chicago Bears.
Watson’s return comes the same week that the Packers will be without wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks, who suffered ankle injury in Week 7 against the Arizona Cardinals. Though the Packers and head coach Matt LaFleur played it coy with Watson’s status this week, his 21-day window was set to close Oct. 27, which would have kept him on Injured Reserve the rest of the season.
Throughout the week, Watson was a limited participant in practice, working through getting back up to speed and into football shape in his return from the knee injury.
In his career, Watson has been a big-play weapon for the Packers. He’s hauled in 98 receptions for 1,653 yards and 14 touchdowns in just 38 games, averaging a healthy 16.9 yards per reception. In his career against the Steelers, Watson has played in just one game, which came in 2023 when he had two catches for 23 yards.
After struggling to contain the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in Week 7, the Steelers will have their hands full with a deep, talented Packers wide receiver room that just got a whole lot better with the return of Watson, even if it remains to be seen how many snaps the big-play receiver will play Sunday night in his season debut.
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