Packers lose deep-threat WR Christian Watson for playoffs with torn ACL

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson has torn his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and he won’t be available for any of the postseason.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur confirmed the severity of Watson’s injury Monday, one day after the 2022 second-round pick from North Dakota State was carted into the locker room in the second quarter of a 24-22 loss to the Chicago Bears.

The injury leaves Green Bay without its top deep threat as the Packers (11-6) go on the road to face the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) in the wild-card round Sunday.

Watson had 29 catches for 620 yards and two touchdowns this season.

“I hurt for him,” LaFleur said. “Obviously I hurt for our team, but just more for him just because I know how much he’s put into this thing, just like all our guys. You never want to see that.”

LaFleur also said he wasn’t sure whether quarterbacks Jordan Love and Malik Willis would face any limitations in practice this week.

Love left the Bears game with what the team described as an elbow injury, and he said afterward that he’d lost feeling in his throwing hand but should be fine for the Eagles game. Love noted that he took some warmup passes late in the game when Willis was dealing with a hand issue.

“I talked to both of those guys,” LaFleur said. “They seem to be doing alright, but as far as their limits, I think they’re going to be OK, but we’ll find out over the next two days.”

Watson, 25, was running a pattern when he went down with a non-contact injury and started to clutch his right knee. Watson had missed the Packers’ 27-25 loss at Minnesota a week earlier with an injured left knee, but he practiced on a limited basis Friday.

LaFleur said Watson had asked Friday about playing against the Bears as long as he was able to practice that day. LaFleur acknowledged there was “a lot of discussion” about whether to play him and that the Packers had planned on only giving him limited snaps.

The Packers had been dealing with depth issues at receiver because Romeo Doubs was out with an illness. LaFleur said Monday that Doubs is now feeling better.

Injuries have hindered Watson for much of his three-year pro career, though he mainly had dealt with hamstring issues in the past.

After he appeared in just nine games in 2023, Watson worked to strengthen his hamstrings and appeared in a career-high 15 games this season.

Now he must deal with his most serious injury yet.

“I know he’ll attack it the right way,” LaFleur said. “He’ll handle the adversity. It will just be a bump in the road for him. I think he’ll come back better. That’s just how he is built. That’s how he’s wired.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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