Wide receiver Christian Watson is back, and that's massive news for the Green Bay Packers 

The Green Bay Packers have to be thrilled about the timetable of Christian Watson's recovery from a torn ACL he suffered in his right knee during the 2024 season finale.

Watson was back at practice on Monday, just 274 days after the injury. To put that recovery timetable in perspective, when Rashan Gary tore his ACL in 2022, he returned to practice 290 days later and didn't play until 308 days after the injury. For Elgton Jenkins in 2021, it was 267 days to get back to practice, but he didn't play until day 302.

To be fair, just because Watson is back in practice, that doesn't mean we'll see him in a game anytime soon. All the Packers did on Monday was open a 21-day window in which the wide receiver can practice without counting against the 53-man roster.

If he takes that full three weeks, that would put him back in action for the November 2nd game against the Carolina Panthers. He could, of course, be activated onto the roster and play before that point, or if things go south, he could also get put back on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list.

By the sounds of it, though, Watson feels ready to play. He feels good. He just wants to make sure he can "go" for real.

"Honestly, my goal for coming back to play is whenever I feel like I've put in the work enough and I'm confident after getting the team reps, getting the live reps and there are no setbacks," Watson said on Monday, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.

"I want to get back and have felt 100 percent and continue to feel 100 percent. That's my main thing. I'm not setting too much of a target date, this week or anything. It's really just as soon as I feel like I'm 100 percent and ready to go is when I'll play."

From the Packers' perspective, the team likely wants to get Watson on the field as soon as possible. He's a true deep-threat and big-play machine when he's healthy, and that's the one thing Matt LaFleur's offense has been missing this season, especially with Jayden Reed out with an injury of his own.

It's also appealing to think about the possibility of Watson playing alongside rookie wideout Matthew Golden. Golden is a different type of player but he also has game-breaking speed. Having both players out on the field could really add stress to a defense, and you'd have to imagine LaFleur is salivating at the idea of scheming those two open.

The issue, though, is that Watson does have a long "rap sheet' when it comes to injuries during his short NFL career. This ACL issue is far from his first foray with the injured list, and though is recovery has reportedly gone great, there has to be some trepidation on the part of the Packers when it comes to the possibility of rushing Watson back.

As such, there's only one expectation the Packers should have with Watson in 2025. He needs to come back when he feels confident in his knee and that he's mentally moved on from the injury. From there, even if he doesn't catch a single touchdown this season, finishing the 2025 campaign healthy should be the only goal.

The Packers gave Watson a one-year, $11 million contract extension last month that will keep him locked in through 2026. They didn't have to do that, but they clearly wanted to reward him for the hard work he's put in to his recovery, and they also waned to take the pressure off him for coming back and producing right away.

All Watson needs to do this season is stay healthy and regain his confidence. It is worth noting, though, that his return has already made an impact on his teammates.

"From what I've seen with Christian, I've seen him cutting and I've seen his runs looking a lot faster, explosive -- I'm not going to tell him that yet -- but he's looking a lot faster, and I just can't wait to get him back on the field because we need him," Gary said.