The NFC North is a dogfight, so whenever you get a chance to laugh at a rival, you have to take it. The Green Bay Packers decided to extend receiver Christian Watson to a four-year, $110 million deal. With his AAV being $27.5 million, that tied him with Bills receiver DJ Moore as the 14th-highest-paid receiver in the NFL.
That's a hefty price tag and seems like an overpay, which doesn't bother the Bears at all. And a breakdown from Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated is another example of why. He dropped an article ranking offensive triplets for all 32 NFL teams. The Packers came in at No. 18, but Watson wasn't included in the trio. Instead, it was Jordan Love, Josh Jacobs, and Tucker Kraft. Considering Kraft is coming off a torn ACL, the fact that he was put ahead of Watson shows how he's still viewed around the NFL despite his payday.
Bears can't only laugh at Christian Watson after latest ranking from Sports Illustrated
While Kraft is a talented playmaker for Green Bay when he's out there, he'll be returning from a major knee injury, and there's no telling how he'll perform on the field. Kraft will also need time to get back to his old self, but Verderame still felt like a more impactful weapon for their offense.
"If Kraft can return from his torn ACL and be 100%, Green Bay might finally have its first 1,000-yard pass catcher since Davante Adams in 2021."
When you look at Watson's career thus far, it's not shocking to see this statement. Over four seasons, Watson has been forced to miss time due to hamstring, chest, and shoulder problems. He also tore his ACL against the Bears in Week 18 of the 2024 season.
That has limited him to 48 career games, but he's never played a full season. Watson's career high in a season was 620 receiving yards, showing that Green Bay was willing to pay him despite his injury history and lack of high-end numbers.
It's definitely a risky decision by the Packers, but as a Bears fan, that's exactly what you want them to do. Believe and overpay for a player who hasn't lived up to the hype. In six games against Chicago, Watson has 16 catches for 313 receiving yards and two touchdowns, but he has finished with fewer than 50 receiving yards in three regular-season games, excluding the contest in which he tore his ACL.
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For the majority of their outings, Chicago has contained Watson, and going into 2026, they will look to do the same. When NFL fans saw the contract, many were surprised, as it was a big deal, and this piece from Verderame shows that he still isn't viewed as the best receiver, despite being the highest-paid one. And that is music to the ears of Bears fans.
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