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Christian Watson appreciated the trust the Green Bay Packers showed him even though he thought he didn’t necessarily deserve it.
Now that they’ve given him a contract extension, Watson wants to reward them by staying healthy and having the best season of his career.
“I try not to get too hung up on the numbers,” Watson said Tuesday while speaking to reporters for the first time since signing his four-year extension last week. “I’m taking it week by week. But if I’m really looking for it and I want to set personal goals, I definitely want to have double-digit touchdowns and I want to have over 1,100 yards.”
Watson, 27, has never accumulated more than 41 catches or 620 receiving yards in any of his four seasons, but he showed last year that he is capable of much more if he can avoid injuries.
After tearing his right ACL in Green Bay’s 2024 regular season finale, Watson missed the Packers’ first six games last year but returned to catch 35 passes for 611 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games.
He now has a $31 million signing bonus as part of a four-year extension, worth up to $110.5 when incentives are included, although the base contract value is around $92 million.
“They gave me countless opportunities when it seemed like I shouldn’t have any more,” Watson said. “That doesn’t mean I’m paying them back or anything — I think we both won on the deal — and I have the opportunity to still make those dollars, guaranteed or not. I feel like I’m in a good position.”
Indeed, Watson has been through many ups and downs since the Packers selected him out of North Dakota State in the second round of the 2022 draft.
He opened his career by going deep, but dropping a potential touchdown to Aaron Rodgers. Watson bounced back to score eight touchdowns in four games later in his rookie season, but he missed eight games with hamstring injuries in 2023. Injuries limited him to a total of 48 games in his first four seasons.
Yet he never doubted the possibility of winning this type of deal in the long term.
“Obviously there was always downtime at that point,” Watson said. “You drop a pass or something like that, or you have a hamstring or something like that. At that point, I definitely felt a little bit sorry for myself. But I feel like I always did a really good job of bouncing back. I had really good people around me that helped me bounce back. I don’t think I ever stayed too long. I think the positive mindset was always there.”
Watson’s extension drew rave reviews from his teammates.
“It’s a testament to the work he does, the type of player he is, who he is in this locker room,” quarterback Jordan Love said.
Watson has earned the respect of his teammates and coaches for how he has overcome all of these challenges, especially in the work he has done to return to peak form so soon after tearing his ACL.
“He embodies what we want to be,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think he’s a team-first guy. Never in four years have I heard him complain about not getting the ball. He does all the little things the right way.”
Watson’s extension comes during an offseason in which the Packers have clarified the pecking order of their front office.
Now that Romeo Doubs has signed with New England and Dontayvion Wicks has been traded to Philadelphia, the Packers enter the season with Watson, Jayden Reed and 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden as their top three wideouts. Reed agreed to a three-year, $50.25 million extension in April.
“Just solidifying the foundation of our offense for the next couple of years will be huge for us, just in terms of consistency in our offense,” Watson said. “And just having those guys available long term, I think, will definitely be important for us in the flow of our offense.”
Watson plans to play an important role in this foundation for years to come.
“I’m going to be grateful every day that I get to step on that field, to be honest,” Watson said. “Of course, I’m going to go out there every day with the mentality to keep getting that contract every day.”
Associated Press reporting.
