During the Green Bay Packers’ 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4, wide receiver Christian Watson suffered an ankle injury. What’s the latest on Watson’s status, and is he expected to play in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals?
The Latest on Christian Watson’s Injury
Watson spent the offseason trying to correct his longstanding hamstring issues, only to suffer an ankle injury on a freak play in Week 4. Watson’s left leg was stuck underneath a Vikings defender on a late-first-quarter interception of Jordan Love.
Watson was diagnosed with a medial sprain, and he’s officially listed as questionable to play this Sunday against the Cardinals.
Packers WR Christian Watson suffered an injury on this play.
Green Bay’s leading receiver from a week ago was carted off the field.pic.twitter.com/K6XtsWZgVh
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 29, 2024
Head coach Matt LaFleur recently said that Green Bay “dodged a bullet” with Watson’s injury and added the third-year WR would not be placed on injured reserve.
After missing every practice last week and sitting out the Packers’ Week 5 contest against the Los Angeles Rams, Watson returned as a limited participant in practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week, suggesting he could be available to play in Week 6.
Watson has only been targeted on 14% of his routes this season, a steep decline from his 24.4% rate as a rookie in 2022 and 19.6% rate in 2023.
Kyle Soppe’s Fantasy Outlook on Watson
“The greatest ability is availability.”
Cliches are corny, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be accurate. Watson was active for 23 of 34 games through the first two seasons of his career, with a series of soft-tissue injuries resulting in the missed time.
We were told this summer that there was a muscle imbalance in his legs that he addressed and that we should be confident that his hamstring issues were a thing of the past — but now Watson is dealing with a medial sprain.
I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but continued lower-body injuries for a player who relies on his physical tools feel like a problem.
MORE: Christian Watson Fantasy Hub: Start/Sit Analysis, Projection, Trade Advice
That said, it sounds like Watson dodged a bullet and has a real chance to play this Sunday, which is good news for fantasy managers who roster him. This is a terrific matchup for the Packers’ passing attack, as the Cardinals are the third-worst yards per pass defense in the league.
After watching Jordan Love score 35 fantasy points over a four-quarter stretch bridging Weeks 4-5, I think it’s safe to say he’s back. Including the playoffs, Love has thrown multiple touchdown passes in nine straight games, and when you consider that four of five QBs to face the Cardinals this season have completed north of 70% of their passes, this matchup is where upside and efficiency project to collide.
Love is a safe bet to finish as a top-10 signal caller this week in all formats and if Arizona can remain competitive, the upside ranks among the elite. Personally, I think we see that and that is why I have Green Bay’s QB penciled in as my QB3 this week.
While Jayden Reed is clearly the alpha WR1 in Green Bay, Watson could also have a good game thanks to this appealing matchup. It’s just tough to predict which secondary Packers WR will pop from week to week. If Watson can’t play, the main beneficiaries are Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks.