The Packer signed Jayden Reed to an extension last week, raising some questions about Christian Watson‘s future on a team that seemingly prefers to draft and develop young receiers rather than paying veterans.
However, three days of the 2026 NFL Draft came and went, and the Packers did not add another receiver. That is not necessarily indicative of Watson’s status – the team also has second-year wideouts Matthew Golden and Savion Williams as well as Bo Melton on the roster. But general manager Brian Gutekunst said after the draft that an extension for Watson was “absolutely” on the table, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
The 2022 second-round pick out of North Dakota State impressed as a rookie with 41 catches for 611 yards and seven touchdowns across 14 appearances. He maintained similar per-game production in 2023, but only appeared in nine games due to recurrent hamstring injuries. Watson returned for 15 games in 2024, averaging an impressive 11.7 yards per target and 21.4 yards per catch before tearing his ACL in the Packers’ regular season finale.
Green Bay signed Watson to a one-year, $11MM extension, giving him some financial security as he rehabbed and ensuring he would remain under contract through the 2026 season. Now, the two sides could soon be returning to the negotiating table to hammer out a multi-year deal.
Watson’s injury history may limit the amount of guarantees that the risk-averse Packers are willing to offer. However, his past injuries showed no signs of lingering effects last year, as the 26-year-old wideout posted a 11.1 yards per target and a career-high 61.1 receiving yards per game. Those numbers are comparable to the performances of Jameson Williams and Alec Pierce, who are making between $26.7MM and $28.5MM per year, respectively. However, that is far too expensive for a receiver who has never reached 16 appearances, 45 catches, or 650 receiving yards in one year.
The Packers will certainly be looking for a cheaper price tag on a Watson extension in the coming months, potentially closer to Reed’s three-year, $50MM deal. But after receiving one smaller short-term payday, the 6-foot-4 wideout could instead choose to bet on himself in 2026 in the hopes of cashing in next year.
get er done
4 years $68 million.
Are you serious? It’s… will be closer to 34M per year than 17M per year.
4 years 130 is probably what it’ll cost. Less GTD money than Pierce, but… similar overall money.
Wyatt or Kraft will be CLOSER to 17M a year(but both likely get more than that).
You see the contracts players are getting? That’s because the salary cap is going to go up… a LOT. Especially with the networks trying to get in front of the NFL’s opt out in 2028. The NFL will likely go from 10B a year to 25-30B a year in TV money the next few years. A 500M salary cap deal may be… conservative by 2030. Players and teams know this.
Not getting Watson for that little(even if the Cap isn’t going up).
That’s an insane contract for a guy who’s never had 700 receiving yards in a season and is gonna be 27 this season.
It’s really not. You seem… out of touch with NFL contracts.
ALSO the difference he makes when he’s on the field.
The Packers were #2 in the NFL in EPA when he’s on the field.
They were #20 when he was not.
I think people who watch Football understand when Watson is on the field, not only is he one of the elite run blocking WR in the NFL(#2) but he takes a safety with him on every play and the other receivers improve.
He also had an 86.7 grade from PFF.
When the Packers signed him last year, they added dummy years, void years… where he was going to get 30M per year. Why would they do that? Do you know? They ALWAYS make the viod years 0 dollars because… it just doesn’t matter.
But in THIS case, it mattered because if you want to extend a player within 12 months to a new contract, you’re limited by the previous contract. So the 30M was put in there deliberately.
You’re surely not just comparing yardage numbers with… Romeo or Reed, right?
There’s nothing out of touch about it.
He can’t stay healthy and isn’t anywhere near as dynamic as Reed. Doubs got way overpaid as well.
He’s not worth anywhere near as much as that, and comparing him to two players with thousand yard seasons to their name is insane.
EPA is a meaningless stat made up by people who don’t actually know football.
Watson is good. He’s not anywhere near $30+ million a year good.
lmao you’re just straight up wrong on this one bro…sorry to break it to you
Dude the guy has never finished a season he isn’t sniffing 130m. There is no comp to a guy like him getting 130m.
Pittman signed for 2 years $35m for his extension. He has actually had a 1000 season and was also a 2nd round pick.
That is 17.5m per season. He hasn’t produced to the same degree as Pittman how would he expect to get paid more?
You can’t tell people they are out of touch with NFL contracts and then not provide a comp to support your claim and also ignore the most recent comp from this season that supports the opposing claim.
Funny thing is I’m not even hating on Watson. I was actually really impressed with him last year after he came back from injury. He makes some huge, clutch catches.
But that’s worth way closer to $20 million per than anything more than that.
100% agree. I think they’ll get a deal done. Worst case they have to tag him if he performs really well ans we have the money to do that next year no issue.
34M a year with his injury history? SMH Get a clue
Just give him THE MONEY and he will still get hurt
He is going to get somewhere between 27 and 35m aav and he deserves every penny. Dude is an all pro in waiting.
Even if he doesn’t personally become an All Pro, the overall impact he has is worth 30M a year. He’s irreplicable on this team.
I’d give him less GTD money(though the Packers usually do that). If he gets 3/100 and 35 Signing Bonus or 4/130… which would come out to 5/136 or so. I would guess that’s the sticking point on the negotiations. I’m sure he’d prefer his deal for next year be torn up and the Packers obviously want include that and then add 4 years.
He wouldn’t be eligible for a new contract until he was 31(5 years).
But I’d be willing to bet they’re close on the AAV.
He’s been an all pro in waiting for a few seasons now. He’s showed flashes of brilliance, but never put it together for a whole season.
He was damn close last year. Amazing from the second he got back. More than 10 games IIRC.
I’m not putting Watson down. Every game I watch I wonder why he isn’t a bigger part of the offense? He should be a minimum 80/1000 WR every season. GB has a solid team and can control the line of scrimmage, but when the TE went down, it was easy to see why the offense struggled. All the WRs are basically journeymen. There wasn’t one guy to bail them out on 3rd and long. The TE was the hub to that offense. Bailing them out over and over again. At full strength, GB should compete for the playoffs.
That said, as a Bears fan I hope GB loses. But I’m also a fan of athleticism, competitiveness, and excellence. GB without the QB, DE, and TE should’ve gotten rolled by Chicago last year, but they didn’t. They played hard and could’ve/should’ve beat CHI in those tight games. Hats off to them. Will be a fun 2026 season.
MLF has really annoyed Packer fans the past two years for exactly those reasons. Feature your best players. Ugg
Personally, I want my division to be as good as possible. If you can’t beat teams at their best, you don’t deserve to win.
The Packers need to find a training staff that can help players stay healthy before they start spending big bucks on contract extensions.
Two thoughts:
1. Why are Bears fans always commenting on Packer posts. Do we live in your head rent free 24/7?
2. Beware. That injury bug travels around. You were very lucky last year. In many ways. One of which was injuries, or lack thereof, to all position groups except CB.
look at your username. you were blabbering away about kmet an hour ago on that article. are you 12 years old?
Nope. A full grown adult with a wife, kids a mortgage and 4 degrees who doesn’t mind slumming it in order to point out logical fallacies of the Packer rivals 🙂
Nobody cares about your degrees that have absolutely nothing to do with football.
If you can’t handle fans of other teams commenting on articles related to your team, you really shouldn’t be commenting on this site.
It’s getting ridiculous. Just adult up already.
It’s usually the forum newbies who squaak to get some attention. I know all the regulars who have been around for a decade like myself and they are always chill and fun to interact with.
will be on the shelf by week 5
Look at the NFCN hate lol
“I’ve said this to you several times. It’s not “preoccupation.” It’s called “wishing your rival ill so your team has a better opportunity.” I do the same thing to the Lions and Vikings. I want the other teams in the NFCN to lose every game. This will continue.
So, no, the Bears are not “in my head.” I don’t fear them. I, and millions of others, saw straight through their record last year. They will regress. I’m just getting the popcorn out to see how much.”
-Bearmeat 48 hours ago
That’s my point. Exactly the point. I get roasted for commenting on Bear Lion and Viking articles. And you (and others) are here with the snark on Packer articles.
I mean. I don’t care. I just think the hypocrisy is funny.
Talent doesnt mean anything if youre not on the field. Can he and Reed have big seasons this year? Can Kraft stay healthy as well?