There was talk this offseason that wide receiver Christian Watson could make his return to the Packers lineup around the middle of the season, but it looks like the wideout might get back a little sooner than that.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst was asked about Watson’s timeline during a press conference on Tuesday and laughed when he said “you want to throw him out there right now” when you see the receiver running. Gutekunst then pivoted to say that the team wants to remain patient and that means Watson will probably be staying on the physically unable to perform list into the regular season.
“There’s kind of a timeline with these ACLs,” Gutekunst said. “He’s ahead of the curve, no doubt about it, but, at the same time, he’s got a long career in front of him so we’re going to make sure we don’t skip any steps along the way. More than likely he’ll start the year on PUP.”
Watson would have to miss the first four games of the year if he’s on the PUP list after the cut to 53 players, but he could be activated at any point after that and that makes a return in the first half a realistic timeline in Green Bay.
