Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson wants to play football again. At the time of this writing, he hasn't seen the field since Week 18 of the 2024 season.

He was injured in Green Bay's 24-22 loss to the Chicago Bears on January 5, 2025. It was a torn ACL in his right knee. What that means is that he hasn't played football for almost 300 days. 

As the Packers look to match up with an old friend and Aaron Rodgers and his new team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 8, Watson is hoping he can get back onto the field.

In fact, he's planning on it.

"That's my plan," Watson said after practice on Wednesday, according to Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' website. "I say it every week; obviously just leaving it up to the trainers, but my goal and my plan is to play this week."

It's worth noting that Watson doesn't have the final say in this matter. The Packers are notoriously conservative when it comes to green lighting injured players, and coming back from a torn ACL is nothing short of a massive undertaking -- especially for a player like Watson, who is known for his elite speed and quick-twitch athleticism.

All indications coming out of practice suggest that Watson looks good and ready to play, but that's ultimately going to be up to the organization this weekend.

Still, he wants to get out there, and the 4-1-1 Packers could use his speed and game-breaking ability against a 4-2 Steelers team (and their quarterback) that will obviously be looking to pick up a big win.

Just imagine what Green Bay's offense would look like with Watson alongside rookie wideout Matthew Golden. Watson ran a 4.36 second 40-yard-dash as the NFL Combine in 2022. Golden just recently ran a 4.29 40.

Those two players on the field at the same time, could drastically improve this offense's ability to get the big play. 

"A lot of speed, man," Golden said last week about the potential to tag-team defenses with Watson. "I'm excited for him coming back. Definitely going to open up a lot of things. It's not always easy coming back from an injury like that. I watched him work each and every day to get back where he is now. I'm excited for him … I'm ready to see him go."

If there was ever a weekend to let that duo loose, this would be it. You just know Rodgers is chomping at the bit to hang 100 on the Packers' defense if he can. Meanwhile, though, the Steelers' defense is giving up 374.7 yards per game, which is the fifth-worst mark in the NFL.

This could end up being a barnburner, so having the ability to deploy Watson downfield could be a massive advantage for Matt LaFleur, Jordan Love and the Packers offense.

Last season, Watson caught 29 passes for 620 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 21.4 yards per catch.