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Rob Demovsky, ESPN Employees Author
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Inexperienced Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson sustained a season-ending torn ACL in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears, coach Matt LaFleur mentioned Monday.
“Yeah, it is not good,” LaFleur mentioned. “He’ll be out for this season or the remainder of the yr.”
As for quarterbacks Jordan Love and Malik Willis, each of whom sustained accidents in Sunday’s sport, LaFleur wasn’t certain whether or not they can be restricted in observe this week. Love left the sport within the second quarter after touchdown on his proper elbow, which induced numbness in his throwing hand. Willis performed the remainder of the sport however banged his throwing hand on the helmet of a Bears participant on the second-to-last collection of the sport.
“I talked to each of these guys,” LaFleur mentioned. “They appear to be doing all proper, however so far as their limits, I believe they will be OK, however we’ll discover out over the subsequent two days.”
Watson was coming off a bruised left knee that compelled him to overlook the earlier week’s sport at Minnesota. It is unclear whether or not that had any impression on the harm to his proper knee. The harm got here on a noncontact play during which the ball went to Dontayvion Wicks throughout the sphere. Watson wanted assist getting off the sphere and was carted to the locker room.
“That is a troublesome one,” Love mentioned Sunday. “Clearly, I am unsure the precise circumstances, however simply seeing it on the sphere, him taking place noncontact like that, it is powerful. It is actually powerful, particularly Christian making an attempt to bounce again from what he is been coping with and to have the ability to go on the market and have that occur, it is powerful. I really feel for Christian.”
Watson, a third-year professional who performed in all however two video games this season, led the Packers with a 21.4-yard common per catch. He caught 29 passes for 620 yards and two touchdowns and was the group’s greatest deep-threat receiver.
The timing of his harm not solely wiped him out of the playoffs, which the Packers start Sunday on the Philadelphia Eagles, but additionally means he is more likely to miss a big portion of subsequent season, when he can be within the closing yr of his rookie contract.
