The regular season hasn’t started and the Green Bay Packers are already dealing with injuries. Saturday’s preseason game looked rough on the scoreboard in a 30-10 loss to the New York Jets, but things got worse when wide receiver Jayden Reed left in a walking boot and quarterback Jordan Love tore a ligament in his left (non-throwing) thumb.
While both players are expected to return for the season opener against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7, the Packers can’t afford any more setbacks going into next season. That was even more apparent when general manager Brian Gutekunst revealed a starter will miss the first month of the season as he recovers from injury.
Brian Gutekunst says Christian Watson likely will start season on PUP, but he's impressed with his recovery and believes it'll be hard to keep him off field much past Week 4: "When you see him run, you want to throw him out there right now. But there's kind of a timeline with…
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) August 12, 2025
Packers GM Suggests WR Christian Watson Will Start Season On PUP List
Gutekunst addressed reporters on Tuesday afternoon and said that Packers wide receiver Christian Watson will likely start the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. That status means he'd be required to miss the first four games of the upcoming season before he can be activated. Yet as Watson recovers from this knee injury, Gutekunst also gave an optimistic timetable for his return.
“When you see him run, you want to throw him out there right now,” Gutekunst said via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “But there’s kind of a timeline with these ACLs. He’s certainly ahead of the curve, no doubt about it. At the same time, he has a long curve in front of him. We don’t want to skip any steps along the way.”
Watson’s extended absence isn’t surprising considering he tore his ACL in the regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears last January. The timeline for recovery from an ACL injury is 6 to 12 months and Watson could be on the shorter end as no other ligaments were damaged. The Packers also have a Week 5 bye, meaning Watson would be over eight months removed from the injury if he returned for an Oct. 12 matchup with the Cleveland Browns.
By that time, the Packers could be excited to have Watson back. A downfield threat, Watson caught 29 passes for a career-high 620 yards and two touchdowns last season. His speed gives Green Bay a dynamic threat they hope they found in first-round pick Matthew Golden and having a pair of field stretchers could open up the running game and give Love room to work underneath.
Unfortunately, Watson has a similar issue that many of the Packer receivers have. Watson has an 8.3% drop rate throughout his career and has missed 13 games over his three seasons due to injury. While he could add a dynamic threat to the Packers offense, he’ll have to stay on the field to realize his potential and help Green Bay get to where they want to go.