The Green Bay Packers have emerged from their bye week with some good news about starting wide receiver Christian Watson and his return to the field.
According to multiple beat reporters, Watson practiced for the Packers on Monday for the first time since he tore his ACL in last January’s regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears. His participation indicates the team has designated him for return.
Expectations had been that Watson — a 2022 second-round pick — would return to the practice field following the Packers‘ bye week. He became eligible to return to practice during the bye after spending the first four games on the reserve/physically unable to perform list (PUP), but the team had not provided a clear-cut timeline for his return.
While Watson practiced Monday for the first time in more than nine months, he is not a shoo-in to play when the Packers host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6. The team must still activate him from the PUP list to the 53-man roster before he can suit up for them.
The Packers will have 21 days, starting Monday, to activate Watson back to the 53-man roster or else they must leave him on the PUP list for the remainder of the 2025 season.
The Packers (2-1-1) will host the Bengals (2-3) at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Christian Watson Felt ‘100%’ in Return to Practice
The Packers might take the slow-and-steady approach with Watson’s return to action, given how many months he has been off the field and the significance of his injury.
Based on Watson’s comments after Monday’s practice, though, the Packers won’t likely need to use the entirety of his 21-day activation window to bring him back to the roster.
“It felt great,” Watson said about returning to the practice field for Monday’s session, via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. “Obviously, I was super anxious to just be able to get back to football, so it meant a lot to me to be able to get out there for sure.”
Watson added that he hasn’t “really taken a day off” since tearing his ACL against the Bears in January 5’s regular-season finale. When asked about how he felt in his return to the practice field for the Packers on Monday, he made it unequivocal: “100%
“I’ve got to knock a little bit of rust off, obviously,” Watson continued. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to go out there and play football. But just from confidence and running and everything, it felt really good. Just excited to continue to build off that.”
Packers Return Several Others from Injuries After Bye
Watson is not the only injured Packers player who returned to practice on Monday.
According to the team’s injury report, the Packers also had starting left guard Aaron Banks (groin) and starting right tackle Zach Tom (oblique) practicing on Monday after both players sat out of Week 4’s tie with the Dallas Cowboys because of their injuries.
The Packers also opened the activation window for interior offensive lineman Jacob Monk on Monday. Monk had also only just become eligible to return to practice after spending the first four games of the season on the injured reserve list. He will have the same amount of time as Watson — 21 days — to work his way back to the active roster.
Second-round rookie right tackle Anthony Belton (ankle) and starting defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (knee) were the only two Packers who did not practice on Monday.
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