Packers S Evan Williams Could Miss Time With MCL Sprain
Packers safety Evan Williams could miss time with an MCL sprain suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Broncos.
Williams went down on the same play on Micah Parson‘s ACL tear, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. Williams’ injury is not thought to be severe, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, but the team would rather ensure that he is healthy for the playoffs rather than risk a re-aggravation.
The 2024 fourth-round pick earned a starting role as partway through his rookie season, though he missed four games due to hamstring and quad injuries. This year, he has a 91% snap share and ranks third on the team in tackles (92) and passes defended (five).
The Packers have used Williams and Xavier McKinney for virtually all of their safety snaps this year. Third on the team is Javon Bullard with 34 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The 2024 second-rounder has primarily lined up in the slot this season, but he does have plenty of experience as a free safety after splitting time with Williams last year.
If Green Bay puts Bullard in Williams’ role, they will likely move Nate Hobbs or Keisean Nixon into the slot. Both players have plenty of experience there, though not this season. Hobbs began the year as a starter on the outside but was replaced by Carrington Valentine by the end of October. Hobbs then missed four games due to injury; upon his return, he resumed his participation in the Packers’ dime packages. Nixon, meanwhile, has started on the boundary all year. It would make sense for him and Valentine to stay put with Hobbs returning to his past role as the Raiders’ nickel.
Williams will hope to recover quickly, if not before the end of the season, then by the playoffs. The 9-4 Packers currently sit in second place in the NFC North and own the third wild card spot in the NFC.
The Packers are expected to have Christian Watson on the field for Saturday night’s face-off with the Bears. Watson suffered chest and shoulder injuries in Week 15, but said (via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic) that he is “feeling pretty good for everything considered.”
“I think it’ll be alright for the game,” Watson added. “We’re at the point in the season where you gotta fight through some stuff, so should be good.”
Packers’ Micah Parsons Suffers Torn ACL
DECEMBER 15: An MRI has confirmed an ACL tear in Parsons’ case, as first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz. His season is indeed over, and a lengthy rehab process will begin once surgery takes place. The Packers will proceed without their blockbuster trade acquisition available down the stretch and into the playoffs.
DECEMBER 14: Stars are falling on both sides of the ball this evening. Shortly following news of an identical injury to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Packers fear star pass rusher Micah Parsons has suffered a torn ACL. Parsons will undergo further testing with the team in order to confirm the diagnosis. 
While Parsons and Mahomes both suffered the injury on their left knee, Parsons’ came without contact as he collapsed in the midst of a pass rush and went down holding the injured limb. Green Bay ruled him out shortly after, and in the postgame proceedings, head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters, “It doesn’t look good, I’ll leave it at that,” per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
It’s been a frustrating year for Parsons. As soon as the calendar changed to March and the 2025 NFL season, Parsons began negotiating with the Cowboys for a long-term extension. What followed was a novel’s worth of updates, how the two sides were far apart, how the team hadn’t even submitted an offer yet, how Parsons was asking for big money, and how the Cowboys were willing to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Things got serious when Organized Team Activities took place without Parsons in attendance, indicating that Parsons’ negotiations were set to follow in the difficult footsteps of former teammates CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott. Parsons eased tensions by returning for minicamp as negotiations continued, but things soured when Parsons felt he had been cornered to negotiate without his agent. Negotiations started going in the wrong direction after that, and Parsons requested a trade from Dallas.
After a good amount of tumult, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys finally caved, trading Parsons to Green Bay just a week and a half before the start of the regular season. The trade came along with a four-year, $188MM extension, providing Parsons with the raise he desired. In return, Parsons has given the team his usual brilliance. In just 14 games, Parsons has continued his streak of seasons with at least 12.0 sacks, something he’s done in all five years of his career. With three games left to go, he even had a chance to challenge his career-high sack number of 14.0.
Before Parsons’ arrival, the Packers defense was no liability. The 2024 unit ranked sixth in points allowed and fifth in yards allowed behind a seventh-ranked rush defense and 13th-best pass defense. With Parsons in tow, the defense once again ranks sixth in points allowed and fifth in yards allowed. This time, though, Parsons has helped the pass defense improve to seventh in the NFL with an eighth-ranked run defense.
The Packers have a number of injuries throughout the defensive line aside from Parsons. Without Parsons, Green Bay will likely turn to Kingsley Enagbare and Lukas Van Ness to pick up the yoke across from Rashan Gary. They almost certainly will not be able to fully match his output, but they’ll need to try to minimize his absence as much as possible as the team just holds on to a Wild Card spot after today’s loss.
In addition to losing Parsons tonight, the Packers saw recently returned wide receiver Christian Watson depart today’s game with a chest injury. According to James Palmer of The Athletic, Watson left the stadium in an ambulance, but he ended up traveling home with the team after getting a scan, per another writer at The Athletic, Matt Schneidman.
Packers Unlikely To Retain WR Romeo Doubs; OLB Rashan Gary A Cut Candidate?
In early October, we heard the Packers were interested in extending contract-year wideout Romeo Doubs. Now, multiple outlets are reporting that Doubs is unlikely to be back with Green Bay in 2026.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said the Packers are expected to let Doubs walk, and just a day later, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic (subscription required) said the same thing. Schneidman views Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, both of whom are under contract through 2026, as the veteran wideouts who are more likely to land an extension from Green Bay.
The Packers also have rookie receivers Matthew Golden and Savion Williams on the books through 2028, and, like Watson and Reed, Dontayvion Wicks is not presently eligible for free agency until 2027. While Doubs is presently leading the team with 45 receptions and 542 receiving yards, that is largely due to injuries suffered by other players.
Watson did not make his 2025 debut until Week 8 as he rehabbed a January ACL tear – and he has played very well since his return – and Jayden Reed only recently got back on the field after sustaining a broken collarbone in Week 2. Tight end Tucker Kraft, meanwhile, saw his promising season cut short by an ACL tear of his own in Week 9.
Fowler previously had opined that Doubs could be eyeing a contract worth $15MM per year. Though the ESPN scribe did not offer a prediction as to contract value in his latest report, he did say Doubs will do well if and when he hits free agency. Given Green Bay’s WR situation, it stands to reason the club would be disinclined to pay market value for the Nevada product.
Another player who could be nearing the end of his Packers tenure is outside linebacker Rashan Gary. Under club control through 2027 by virtue of the four-year, $96MM extension he signed in October 2023, Gary has already tallied 7.5 sacks this season, which matches his output from his Pro Bowl showing in 2024.
That said, he has not tallied a sack since Week 7, and as Schneidman observes, Gary’s pressure percentage since Week 9 is tied for 38th in the league. Even in 2024, 4.5 of Gary’s 7.5 sacks came in a six-game span, so what Schneidman refers to as “stretches of futility” are not a new phenomenon for the 28-year-old edge defender.
However, with Micah Parsons in the fold to take pressure off Gary, those stretches are less excusable. As such, Schneidman believes the Packers could release Gary this offseason, though he concedes that will be more difficult if 2023 first-rounder Lukas Van Ness – who has missed extensive time this year with a foot injury – does not quickly start playing like a Day 1 draftee. Cutting Gary prior to June 1 would net roughly $11MM in cap savings, though it would come with a dead money charge in excess of $17MM. A post-June 1 release would be more palatable in that regard.
Schneidman echoes another prior Fowler report in saying that Green Bay will likely allow left tackle Rasheed Walker to sign elsewhere in the upcoming offseason.
Packers Activate WR Christian Watson From Reserve/PUP
It’s been almost 300 days since Packers wide receiver Christian Watson tore his ACL, ending his 2024 season, but a return could be on the horizon. Watson will have a chance to make his 2025 debut tomorrow as Green Bay has activated him off the reserve/physically unable to perform list. He makes his way off the injury list with just two days to spare in his 21-day practice window.
With the injury occurring so late in the season, there were immediate expectations that Green Bay would be without one of their top receivers to start the 2025 campaign. What’s worse, this season was supposed to be a contract year for Watson, which would’ve given him a chance to earn a big, new contract. The Packers made sure that Watson would avoid having to prove himself in half a season by giving him a one-year, $11MM extension.
The short-term delay of free agency acts as a prove-it deal. After seeing the 26-year-old miss time with hamstring issues throughout his first two years, teams will want to see him have a fully healthy season before signing him to a big contract. The extension will allow Watson to ease back into the game over the remainder of this season and hit the ground running in 2026, his new contract year. The team also built three effective voidable years into the deal which will allow them to circumvent the 12-month renegotiation waiting period usually required to sign him to another potential extension after the season.
As the season drew near, it became clear that Watson would start the year on the reserve/PUP list, and eventually, he did. He returns to a Packers team that has gotten off to a hot 4-1-1 start and currently sits atop the NFC North. The offense and passing attack haven’t appeared to be quite as successful as last year’s offensive unit, but perhaps Watson’s return can contribute to some improvements on that front.
Also lacking Jayden Reed since Week 2, quarterback Jordan Love has continued to spread the ball evenly between his targets with tight end Tucker Kraft and receivers Romeo Doubs and first-round rookie Matthew Golden proving to be the main benefactors. While Reed remains on injured reserve for now, the addition of Watson back into the offense may mean a small change in role for Golden or Dontayvion Wicks.
We’ll see just how much of a leash the Packers give Watson, if they do in fact let him play in his first game of the season. They’ve been cautious in his return from injury thus far, so it’d be a surprise if he came out tomorrow with zero restrictions. Either way, adding Watson back into the mix should only help the Packers in what looks like it might be the league’s most contentious division race.
To make room for Watson on the 53-man roster, the Packers waived tight end Ben Sims. They also announced they would elevate defensive end Arron Mosby for the second time this year as a standard gameday practice squad elevation.
Packers Open WR Christian Watson’s Practice Window
Coming off their bye, the Packers could have a key offensive contributor in the fold soon. Wideout Christian Watson has returned to practice, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky notes.
Last week, head coach Matt LaFleur said (via Demovsky) the team was discussing opening Watson’s practice window right after the bye. Today’s news comes as no surprise as a result. The Packers now have 21 days to activate Watson from the reserve/PUP list.
An ACL tear ended the 26-year-old’s 2024 campaign. Watson has been rehabbing the injury since then, and he expressed optimism last month in his ability to return to practice when first eligible to do so. That would have meant having his window opened last week, but in any event today’s update is an encouraging sign. Watson will be expected to handle a notable role upon activation, especially with Jayden Reed recovering from multiple surgeries.
Injuries have prevented Watson from playing a full season to date in his career. The former second-rounder nevertheless signed an $11MM deal this offseason to ensure he will not depart in free agency during the spring. Watson’s ability to receive a longer commitment from Green Bay will obviously be tied to his health and the extent to which he can duplicate last season’s success. Prior to his Week 18 ACL tear, the North Dakota State alum posted a career-best 620 yards while averaging 21.4 yards per reception.
Much of the Packers’ long-term plans at the receiver spot remains uncertain. Romeo Doubs (who is currently in the final year of his rookie pact) could be playing his way into an extension, while Reed will be eligible for a second contract after this season. Part of the team’s decisions on those fronts will no doubt be influenced by Watson and his role in the passing game upon returning to action this season.
In other injury news, offensive lineman Jacob Monk has also had his 21-day activation window opened (h/t Demovsky). Monk was moved to injured reserve during roster cutdowns while being designated for return. As a result, he (along with running back MarShawn Lloyd) already counts toward Green Bay’s total in terms of IR activations for the year. Monk could join Watson on the Packers’ gameday roster as early as Week 6 depending on how the next few days play out.
Packers’ Christian Watson Expects To Practice When First Eligible
The Packers entered the season with a deep receiving corps, but two of those players are unavailable. Jayden Reed has landed on IR due to a broken collarbone; the third-year wideout joins Christian Watson as sidelined Packer pass catchers.
Long expected to begin the season on the shelf — because of a Week 18 ACL tear — Watson has since signed a one-year, $11MM extension ($6.1MM guaranteed). That illustrates some faith on Green Bay’s part, though the team could be landing a potential bargain considering the value the former second-round pick would have brought as a 2026 free agent without the injury in the equation. And Watson looks to be moving closer to recovering from that setback.
The fourth-year weapon said (via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman) he expects to see his practice window opened when first eligible. That would mean a Week 5 return to practice, but since the Packers have a bye that week, the North Dakota State product would have at least another week to prepare for a return. Though, the Packers could also slow-play the recovery process; they are typically cautious when it comes to injury returns.
Watson is also no longer a contract-year asset; the organization making a 2026 commitment would further point to caution. This offseason, a midseason return was floated as likely for Watson. If the Packers open his IR-return window in Week 5, he would need to be activated by Week 8. That would align with a midseason timetable. It could also be possible the Pack activate Watson but continue to ramp him up in practice without turning to him in a game.
Reed was to be a key part of Green Bay’s receiving corps, even after the team used first- and third-round picks on Matthew Golden and Savion Williams. The latter will need to play a bigger role for the Pack, who still have Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks as healthy pieces at receiver. Watson will likely be back during Reed’s absence, which opens the door for some help after the team’s 2023 and ’24 leading receiver rehabs two injuries (Reed also had attempted to play through a foot fracture to start the season).
While Watson and Reed’s skillsets do not overlap much, the period when both are available will crowd the team’s receiving corps. That would be a good problem to have for Green Bay, which has not seen a 1,000-yard season since trading Davante Adams. Watson also has not shown he can be counted on, having missed 13 games during his first three seasons. The deep threat does have two 600-plus-yard years on his resume, but the Packers were expecting more when they took him 34th overall in 2022. Watson saw a hamstring specialist during the 2024 offseason but also missed time with a high ankle sprain last year.
Unique Details In Recent WR Extensions
In the past few weeks, we’ve seen the Commanders and Packers agree to extensions with top receivers. Terry McLaurin was able to cease a hold-in after finally receiving a deal worth signing, while a recovering Christian Watson signed a deal pushing back his eventual free agency another year into the future. Each deal, though, held a unique aspect worth discussing.
We already covered several details of the extension that adds $87MM of new money to the 29-year-old McLaurin’s deal. New information comes in the form of incentives and some structure in the timing of payments. In each year through 2028, he’ll have the same three performance incentives. 83 receptions will net him $300K, 1,097 yards will net him another $300K, 10 touchdowns will net him another $300K, and making the playoffs will double any of the qualified bonuses to $600K.
A Pro Bowl bid will earn McLaurin $250K extra in each season, but first- or second-team All-Pro honors would trigger a $500K escalator, increasing his salary in the following season by that amount. He’ll be able to get $500K in each of the three news seasons for participating in voluntary offseason workouts, and for the next four years, he’ll have the potential to make $850K per season in per game active roster bonuses.
What makes this deal interesting, as Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer points out, is that the language of the deal poses it more as a two-year commitment. There is a $5.35MM injury guarantee for the 2027 season, but it doesn’t vest until April 1 of that year, so that day becomes a deadline for deciding whether or not to exercise what essentially become team options in ’27 and ’28. McLaurin had been seeking a big raise, but Washington had balked at the idea of giving him $30MM per year. Essentially, McLaurin gets his big raise for the next two years but little security in the following two.
The Packers agreed to extend Watson as they wait for him to come off the reserve/physically unable to perform list. The deal, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, includes the opportunity to make up to $1.83MM in per game active roster bonuses and $2.25MM in incentives, not to mention workout bonuses in each of the next two seasons.
Where the deal gets interesting here is the team’s decision to add three effective voidable years from 2027-29. Whereas voidable years are often utilized to spread cap hits out over a longer amount of time, these void years increase Watson’s 2025 cap impact. Per Ken Ingalls of Sports Illustrated, the void years allow Green Bay to circumvent the 12-month renegotiation waiting period, allowing them to potentially work out another extension for Watson next season. Ingalls claims it also makes Watson’s contract easily tradable in the case that he asks for a bigger raise next year and the Packers refuse.
Both deals are interesting innovations as each franchise got creative in their attempts to keep their players happy in the moment, while keeping the teams’ financial futures intact. We’re sure to see continued evolution of how front offices confront and structure contracts in ways that have not often been seen.
Packers Sign Christian Watson To Extension
SEPTEMBER 10: The base value of Watson’s new deal is $11MM, ensuring roughly $13MM in total compensation across the next two seasons (h/t Ian Rapoport of NFL Network). $6MM in new guarantees are included, all in the form of a signing bonus. A $1.85MM roster bonus is present for 2026 as well.
SEPTEMBER 9: Christian Watson continues to work his way back from a torn ACL suffered during the 2024 regular season finale. While the Packers wideout isn’t expected to take the field until at least next month, the team is still rewarding him with a new contract.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers have signed Watson to a one-year, $13.25MM extension. The receiver was set to play the 2025 campaign on the final year of his rookie deal, but this extension will now keep him in Green Bay through at least the 2026 season. According to Schefter, the Packers wanted Watson to focus on his return from injury in 2025 vs. his impending free agency, leading to today’s deal.
A former second-round pick, Watson spent his rookie campaign playing alongside Aaron Rodgers, with his nine touchdowns and 691 yards from scrimmage still representing career-highs. He’s spent the past two seasons serving as one of Jordan Love‘s key targets, but Watson has yet to truly break out like the organization may have expected.
The receiver averaged a career-high 46.9 yards per game during the 2023 season, but he was limited to only nine appearances thanks to a pesky hamstring issue. He got into a career-high 15 games last season, but he was limited to a career-low 41.3 yards per game and 47.2 success rate. Watson suffered a torn ACL in Week 18, and considering the timing, it was always expected that his recovery time would leak into the 2025 campaign.
That ended up being the case, as Watson landed on the PUP list to begin this season. He’ll be forced to miss the first four games, but there’s a chance he’s back shortly after he becomes eligible. The last we heard, Watson was a candidate to return as early as Week 5, but considering the team’s receiving depth, the Packers may not feel any urgency to immediately get him back on the field.
That depth has also clouded Watson’s future in Green Bay, although today’s one-year extension is somewhat a vote of confidence. Watson finished the 2024 season as the fourth-most targeted WR in Green Bay, and each of the three wideouts ahead of him —Dontayvion Wicks, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs — are still on the roster (not to mention TE Tucker Kraft, who has emerged as one of Love’s favorite weapons). The team also added rookie first-round pick Matthew Golden and rookie third-round pick Savion Williams to the squad.
Notably, Watson is the oldest player in the receivers room. While his extension gives him a better chance of carving out a long-term role with the Packers, it seems likelier than not that the 2026 campaign could be his final season in Green Bay.
Packers Make Cuts, Set Initial 53-Man Roster
The Packers announced their initial 53-man roster as well as the following transactions:
Released
- CB Corey Ballentine
- WR Mecole Hardman
- LB Isaiah Simmons
- LB Kristian Welch
Waived
- RB Isaiah Abanikanda
- DE Deslin Alexandre
- S Johnathan Baldwin
- OL Brant Banks
- LB Jaret Bartlett
- QB Sean Clifford
- OL Tyler Cooper
- RB Tyrion Davis-Price
- QB Taylor Elgersma
- DT James Ester
- CB Tyron Herring
- WR Julian Hicks
- OL Trey Hill
- RB Amar Johnson
- WR Cornelius Johnson
- LB Jamon Johnson
- CB Kalen King
- OL JJ Lippe
- LS Mark McNamee
- DE Arron Mosby
- WR Isaiah Neyor
- DT Devonte O’Malley
- WR Will Sheppard
- S Jaylin Simpson
- OL Lecitus Smith
- OL Kadeem Telfort
Placed on IR (designation to return)
- RB MarShawn Lloyd
- OL Jacob Monk
Placed on IR
Placed on reserve/PUP
- DE Collin Oliver
- WR Christian Watson
- OL John Williams
Despite his struggles to carve out a role in the NFL, Simmons made the 53-man roster in each of his first five seasons after the Cardinals selected him with the No. 8 pick in 2020. That streak has come to an end in Green Bay with his release today.
Alexandre is expected to return to the Packers’ practice squad if he clears waivers, per USA Today’s Ryan Wood, who places Banks in the same category.
Lloyd suffered a groin injury early in training camp and a hamstring injury more recently, which will land him on IR and sideline him for at least four weeks. Monk, though to be the team’s backup center, will also be out for a minimum of four weeks.
Christian Watson Likely To Land On Packers’ Reserve/PUP List; Jayden Reed Uncertain To Play In Week 1?
AUGUST 12: When speaking to the media on Tuesday, Gutekunst confirmed (via USA Today’s Ryan Wood) Watson is expected to begin the season with a reserve/PUP designation. He added, though, a return as early as Week 5 could be in store given Watson’s steady progress in the rehab process.
AUGUST 10: Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed is expected to be among Green Bay’s top pass catchers in 2025, just as he has been over each of his first two years in the league. Unfortunately, he is dealing with an injury that could jeopardize his availability for the start of the season.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter says Reed is in a walking boot due to a sprained foot, and one source described his status as “day to day.” When asked about Reed following his team’s first preseason contest on Saturday, head coach Matt LaFleur said he hoped Reed would be on the field for Week 1. He added, however, “any time you see a guy in a boot that’s a concern” (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky).
Reed, a 2023 second-round pick, has produced a 17-game triple-slash average of 61/850/7 through the first half of his rookie deal, thus proving his importance to the Packers’ Jordan Love-led offense. He did struggle with drops (nine) in 2024, but after agent Drew Rosenhaus approached Packers GM Brian Gutekunst with questions about Reed’s role in the wake of Green Bay’s significant investment in the WR position in April’s draft, LaFleur suggested there should be no such concerns in that regard.
The rookie wideouts, Matthew Golden (first round) and Savion Williams (third) could be especially important in the early stages of the season if Reed is forced to miss time. Deep threat Christian Watson was already expected to be sidelined, perhaps until midseason, as a result of the ACL tear he sustained at the end of the 2024 campaign.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler confirms Watson is expected to be placed on the reserve/PUP list at the end of training camp, which would force the contract-year receiver to miss at least the first four games of the 2025 schedule. While both Fowler and Wes Hodkiewicz of the team’s official website acknowledge Watson is moving well and has shown no lingering effects from his injury, Hodkiewicz cautions Watson is not “going full blast” just yet. Green Bay will exercise patience here, a decision made easier by Golden’s standout camp.
The news is better for linebacker Quay Walker, who will again serve as a starter in the middle of the Green Bay defense. Since the club declined Walker’s fifth-year option – which was not surprising, as the fifth-year number for all linebackers is inflated by the salaries of outside linebackers who rush the passer – Walker is, like Watson, entering a platform season.
Walker opened training camp on the PUP list, and though he was activated on July 23, he had not taken part in 11-on-11 drills until a few days ago. As Demovsky writes, Walker has returned to full participation after dealing with an ankle injury that impacted him most of last year and that caused him to miss the final three regular season games of 2024.
Walker, 25, underwent surgery on the ankle in late May, per Demovsky. Given his camp status, it sounds as if he has made a full recovery, and Gutekunst has expressed a desire to keep the 2022 first-rounder on the club for the foreseeable future. Player and team have recently engaged in extension talks.