GREEN BAY, Wis. — A barrage of injuries is currently impacting the state of the Green Bay Packers' wide receiver room with two preseason contests left to go this summer.
Dontayvion Wicks has missed a handful of practices—and Saturday's exhibition opener against the New York Jets—with a calf injury, Jayden Reed is out with a foot injury and Romeo Doubs dropped out of Tuesday's practice with what appeared to be a lower back injury. Savion Williams, a third-round pick this past spring, has yet to be fully integrated into the offense because of a concussion and another undisclosed injury that has kept him out of practice.
Headlining the bunch, though, is Christian Watson, who sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in last season's regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears. He hasn't suffered a setback, nor is he right on schedule—he's ahead of it, with general manager Brian Gutekunst saying as much during a pre-practice press conference on Tuesday.
"It's tough because when you see him run, it's kind of like, you want to throw him out there right now," said Gutekunst. "But, there's kind of a timeline with these ACLs and he's certainly ahead of the curve, no doubt about it. At the same time, he's got a long career in front of him, so we're going to make sure that we do the proper steps and don't skip any steps along the way."
Gutekunst's expectation is that Watson will begin the regular season on the physically unable to perform list, knocking him out of the Packers' first four games. A potential target date for his return would be right after the team's bye week on Oct. 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
"After that fourth game, I'm sure he's gonna be chomping at the bit. It's gonna take a lot of us to hold him back," Gutekunst said.
(Photo: Getty)
As if to prepare for the high likelihood that Watson will miss extended time to begin the year, the Packers drafted a first-round wide receiver for the first time since 2002. Texas' Matthew Golden is presumed to step in and serve as an immediate contributor for head coach Matt LaFleur. His 4.29 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year was the second-fastest time among all players and first among receivers—the Packers are hoping that his speed will translate to the next level in Watson's absence.
Against the Jets this past weekend, Golden opened the game with the Packers' starting offense. He had a third-down conversion on a seven-yard reception from Jordan Love and also drew a defensive pass interference call against cornerback Sauce Gardner, widely considered to be among the best in the league at his position.
When a dynamic presence with the speed that Watson possesses isn't on the field, the rest of the offense seems to feel the aftershock; there's no other true deep threat that's capable of drawing the attention of the opposing defense. Enter Golden, who has quickly acclimated to life in the NFL.
Watson and Romeo Doubs, who was drafted two rounds later in 2022, are each entering the final years of their respective rookie deals. It's unclear which player the Packers will opt to re-sign, if any. Even if Watson is activated to the 53-man roster by October, there's no promise that he'll be ready to return by that point. The Packers' medical staff is likely to gradually ease him back into action as they remain conservative in navigating treacherous waters after such a significant knee injury.
Watson recorded career highs in receptions, yards and yards per reception last season, hauling in 29 passes for 620 yards, two touchdowns and averaging 21.4 yards per catch.
Zachary Jacobson is the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is entering his 11th season covering theGreen Bay Packers. He is a member of thePro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter@zacobson or contact him via email atitszachariahj@gmail.com