Primetime football is fun. It’s especially fun when your team wins. It’s even more fun when Christian Watson’s injury becomes a WWE plot twist on National Television.

Christian Watson deserves the national attention he has received. He is fourth ranked wide receiver with 708 yards and tied for second with 6 touchdowns.

But it was not long ago that Watson received was the focus of a much more mixed attention.

Injury prone

It is undeniable that Christian Watson’s injury history is lengthy. Since coming into the league in 2022, Watson has missed nearly a third of his eligible games with injury.

A lot of those missed games were the result of a lingering hamstring injury. That hamstring injury was eventually revealed to be a result of a uneven recovery from a previous ACL tear.

With his hamstring issue solved, Watson played his longest season of 15 games in 2024, only to tear his ACL in the final week of that season. An injury, not the result of underlying physiological issues, was the result of awful luck.

These factors were easily overlooked when Watson signed a 4 year, $110 million year contract this past June. No one question Watson’s talent, but much more than arched eyebrows were directed at the Packers font office.

Were the Packers overlooking Watson’s injury tendencies?

Comeback kid

Through all of his injuries, Christian Watson has carried 2 critical traits to be the star wide receiver has has been this season. He has stayed a top level athlete, and hasn’t given up.

Given his athletic traits and the types and number of injuries he’s sustained, it’s almost miraculous that Watson is still the deep threat he is. Few human beings ever born can run just under 22 mph at 6’4″ tall, even fewer can do it after tearing as many knee ligaments as he has.

On the contrary, Watson has played his best since returning in 2025 from the previous season’s ACL tear.

The continuity of his athleticism points to his determination. Rehabbing is hard work without the promise of ever returning to one’s former abilities.

These traits showed up in Thursday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers.

After catching a 53 yard pass, number 9 stayed down on the field. After being helped off the field, Watson’s injury received one of the worst possible updates: it would need to be examined at the hospital.

I don’t think there was any question for the fans at Lambeau field that Watson had no chance to return that game. That’s what got the crowd on their feet when he jogged back to the Packers sideline, still suited up to play.

The Amazon Prime crew did a fantastic job of not only catching Watson stepping into the ambulance, but also his return and jog up the Packers’ tunnel. Even Al Michaels, who has seemed checked out since leaving Sunday Night Football, gave an excited chuckle as Watson emerged back on the field.

Not only did he return to the field after breaking a rib, coughing blood, and going to the emergency room, Watson caught the final 1st down reached by the Packers. While the game didn’t end in a kneel down, his catch with 2:33 left allowed the Packers to only give the Panthers 22 seconds to try to score.