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Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff Writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Initial tests showed that the knee injury Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson sustained in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears was a torn ACL, a source told ESPN.
The source said that Watson was expected to undergo more tests to determine what other damage, if any, there is to his right knee and that no decision has been made on when or where Watson will have surgery.
NFL Network reported that there was believed to be more damage than just Watson’s ACL. Packers coach Matt LaFleur indicated after the game that Watson’s status for the postseason was not good.
“I’m not super confident about that right now,” LaFleur said Sunday.
LaFleur is expected to meet with reporters later Monday afternoon.
Watson was coming off a bruised left knee that forced him to miss the previous week’s game at Minnesota. It’s unclear whether that had any impact on the injury to his right knee. It was a noncontact play in which the ball went to Dontayvion Wicks across the field. Watson needed help getting off the field and was carted to the locker room.
“That’s a tough one,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “Obviously I’m not sure the exact circumstances, but just seeing it on the field, him going down noncontact like that, it’s tough. It’s really tough, especially Christian trying to bounce back from what he’s been dealing with and to be able to go out there and have that happen, it’s tough. I feel for Christian.”
Watson, a third-year pro who played in all but two games this season, led the Packers with a 21.4-yard average per catch. He caught 29 passes for 620 yards and two touchdowns and was the team’s best deep-threat receiver.
The timing of his injury not only wiped him out of the playoffs, which the Packers begin Sunday at the Philadelphia Eagles, but also means he’s likely to miss a large portion of next season, when he will be in the final year of his rookie contract.