It was a foregone conclusion that the Green Bay Packers and wide receiver Christian Watson would come to terms on an extension. That became especially clear after Romeo Doubs departed and they traded Dontayvion Wicks.
The only question left was when it would happen. On Thursday, we got that answer. It capped a Packers offseason full of smart moves at wide receiver.
After the Packers drafted Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Williams in the third last year, it became very apparent that the Packers would be making some tough decisions at wide receiver. With Watson, Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Wicks already on the roster, someone — and likely multiple receivers — had to go.
How many and who were the big questions. Green Bay tipped its hand last year when it gave Watson a one-year extension that would’ve kept him on the roster through 2026. There was some risk in that, given that Watson was still recovering from a torn ACL. Clearly the Packers believed he’d be just fine.
He backed that up with his performance on the field in 2025. Once he confirmed their faith in him, a longer-term deal was a fait accompli.
You can argue your case that Doubs was the most reliable weapon for Jordan Love the last few years or that Reed had just as much upside as any of the other wide receivers on the team. However, when healthy, nobody on the team has Watson’s upside. Nobody else looked like a true WR1.
Some will look at this four-year extension worth up to $110.5 million and argue that Watson has never been an All-Pro. They’ll argue that Watson has never had a season with even 650 receiving yards or a single season with more than 41 receptions. All of that is true, but Green Bay is banking on Watson’s health.
If Watson remains even relatively healthy over the next few years, this is a tremendous deal for Green Bay. All the numbers suggest that Watson would post significant numbers if he played a full season.
The Reed extension was Green Bay’s second correct move at wide receiver. Reed is as versatile as they come, with the ability to play on the outside but really shining in the slot. He’s used plenty in pre-snap motion, but labeling him as some sort of gadget player doesn’t do him any justice.
Like Watson, Reed has had a couple of major injury setbacks, primarily last year when he had surgery to repair a broken clavicle and surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his foot. It cost Reed a large chunk of the season. As with Watson, Green Bay is betting on his return to good health. Otherwise, Reed’s deal, a three-year extension worth up to $50 million, is pretty team-friendly.
That isn’t to say that parting ways with Doubs and Wicks was a no-brainer decision. Doubs was arguably Love’s most trusted target, and Wicks has plenty of upside that may have been lost in such a crowded group. All of this circles back to the 2025 draft, though. The decision to select two wide receivers in the first three rounds created a fork in the road. The Packers would have to make tough decisions sooner rather than later.
What Watson and Reed provide to the offense on their best days is better than Wicks and as good as, if not better than, Doubs. Watson has the true makeup of a No. 1 wide receiver when healthy. Doubs doesn’t.
It was an offseason of significant change at wide receiver for Green Bay. However, the extensions for Watson and Reed now ensure that both will be around for the long haul as Golden and Williams continue to develop.
