Packers' Christian Watson makes stunning 'TNF' return after hospital trip - USA Today
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson suffered an apparent injury after making a deep catch against the Carolina Panthers in their "Thursday Night Football" matchup.
Watson was working against Panthers cornerback Will Lee in coverage when the wideout hauled in a 53-yard completion. He then went to the ground after the catch and landed hard on top of the ball.
Watson remained down after the play and immediately received medical attention from the Packers' medical staff. Meanwhile, Lee also went down, clutching his hamstring.
Watson eventually exited the field and headed into the blue medical tent for further evaluation.
Watson officially returned to the Packers' Week 8 game against the Panthers in the third quarter. This came despite him being taken to a local hospital for "precautionary testing" on a chest injury.
Jordan Love threw in Watson's direction on his first snap back in the game. Watson wasn't able to reel in the pass, which was well-defended by two Panthers defenders, and he was no worse for wear after going to the ground during the play.
Originally, the Green Bay Packers announced Watson is "questionable" to return to Thursday's game because of a chest injury.
Shortly after that announcement, Amazon sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung reported Watson was being taken to a local hospital for "precautionary reasons." The broadcast showed Watson climbing into an ambulance under his own power, still clad in his uniform.
The Packers later confirmed Watson was being taken to the hospital for "precautionary testing" but did not provide a further update about his status.
But at the beginning of the second half, Hartung reported that Watson had been tested at the hospital and was set to return to Lambeau Field. Furthermore, the Packers still haven't officially ruled Watson out of Thursday's game, even despite his departure.
The Amazon broadcast later showed video of Watson arriving back to the field in the ambulance. He was shown running to the locker room and later running back onto the field, as a chorus of cheers rained down from the Packers fans on hand at Lambeau Field.
Before returning to the game, Watson had logged six catches for 100 yards but also lost a fumble.
After the game, Watson gave fans an update on what he went through during the contest in a postgame interview with Amazon Prime's Kaylee Hartung.
Watson started by acknowledging that his hospital trip was "tough" and that he "didn't want to go."
"It was tough. Honestly, I never wanted to go," Watson said. "I was hoping that they would let me off. I said I was kinda feeling better once I kinda caught my breath. But I mean they said there was a couple of signs that made them have to take me over there."
"It is what it is," he added. "I was just praying that it was good enough to where I could come back out here. Obviously, thankfully it was and I was able to get back out."
Watson also shed some light on the tests doctors performed on him, which were largely to rule out internal bleeding.
"No internal bleeding. No anything that was raising suspicion," Watson said when describing what the tests had revealed. "Because I was spitting a little blood at first, so they just wanted to make sure there was nothing crazy."
Watson told Hartung he was "feeling good" and also expressed gratitude to the Green Bay fans for the raucous cheers they gave him upon his return to the stadium and to the field.
"It was surreal running out and just hearing the fans having my back like that," Watson said. "It's tough any time that you have to go off the field or you think you're injured or you're going down with something. So, just to come back out here and get that kind of response from the fans was incredible."
Watson suffered a chest injury while making a 53-yard reception against the Panthers. He made the catch before going to the ground hard and remaining down after making the catch.
Watson was able to exit the field under his own power and was checked out in the blue medical tent. Eventually, he was seen walking on the sideline and shaking his head before heading to the locker room.
Once there, Watson boarded an ambulance, still under his own power, to be taken to a local hospital for further tests.
And here's video of the receiver climbing into the ambulance.
Bo Melton is listed as the backup to Watson on the Packers' official depth chart. The Rutgers product has played both receiver and cornerback during his career and entered Thursday's game having logged five catches for 34 yards.
While Melton is Watson's official backup, the Packers would likely rely on Matthew Golden to serve as its No. 1 receiver with Savion Williams serving as the primary complement to Golden. As such, Melton may not see a sizable uptick in opportunities.
The Packers dressed six receivers for their "TNF" game against the Panthers. Below is the pecking order within the unit.
Golden immediately saw an uptick in work after Watson left the field and eventually logged a 24-yard touchdown on Green Bay's final score of the first half.
Meanwhile, Williams was only targeted twice but he also was credited with an 18-yard run. As a result, he leads the Packers in rushing yards, and the Packers may scheme him up some short-area touches in the second half.
Tight end Tucker Kraft and running back Josh Jacobs could also see an uptick in targets as Watson remain out of action.
