Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur didn’t hold back his true feelings about starting wide receiver Christian Watson signing a long-term contract extension during the team’s first day of mandatory veteran minicamp.
The Packers officially announced they signed Watson to a long-term contract extension on June 4, locking down their most experienced pass-catcher through the 2030 season.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Watson’s deal is worth $92.5 million over four years and includes escalators — such as per-game roster bonuses — that could push the total contract value to $110.5 million, as insider Adam Schefter had initially reported.
From LaFleur’s perspective, it is a well-earned extension for one of his team’s brightest stars, who has consistently handled his business “the right way” over the last four years.
“He’s definitely deserving,” LaFleur said Tuesday, via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. “He embodies what we want to be about. I think he’s a team-first kind of guy. Never once over the course of four years have I heard him complain about not getting the ball. He does all the little things the right way. I think he handles himself the right way. He’s a great teammate. He busts his butt every day when he comes in the building. He does all the dirty work in the run game, so I was super fired up for him.”
Christian Watson Remains a Slight Gamble for Packers
The Packers have high expectations for Watson moving forward, hence why they paid him top-20 annual money at the wide receiver position on his lucrative new extension. But make no mistake, the team is also gambling — again — on Watson’s overall health.
Watson has dealt with a number of lower-body injuries over his first four seasons with the Packers, including recurring hamstring issues that impacted his availability over his first two years with the team. He put his hamstring injuries in the rearview in 2024 and played a career-high 15 games, but he sustained a torn ACL in Week 18’s regular-season finale against Chicago that kept him sidelined until late the following October.
Now, encouragingly, Watson played well once he returned from his major knee injury in 2025. He caught 35 passes for 611 yards in 10 games, finishing second in the league in yards per reception (17.5 yards) among NFL wide receivers with at least 50 targets. He also caught seven touchdowns in eight games, counting their wild-card playoff loss.
The Packers likely recognize that if Watson can maintain that production over a fully healthy season in 2026, they will have a breakout star on their hands at a steal of a price — relative to the rest of the receiver market. LaFleur’s offense may have less of a spread-the-love identity next season, too, with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks elsewhere.
Even still, Watson has more to prove to live up to the value of his brand-new contract.
Packers Have Invested Major Money into LaFleur’s Offense
The Packers have invested significant cap resources in LaFleur’s offense over the past few months of the 2026 NFL offseason. Chances are good they are not done yet, either.
Since the start of the offseason, the Packers have signed long-term contract extensions with Watson (four years, $92.5 million), wide receiver Jayden Reed (three years, $50.2 million) and center Sean Rhyan (three years, $33 million), solidifying veteran members of their offensive core for the three remaining years of quarterback Jordan Love’s deal.
The Packers are also widely expected to sign veteran tight end Tucker Kraft to a long-term contract extension before the start of the 2026 season that, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, will “probably reset” the tight end market. George Kittle and Trey McBride currently sit atop the market, each earning about $19 million annually.
The catch with Kraft is his ongoing ACL recovery. While the Packers think highly of their 2023 third-round pick, he played just seven full games in 2025 before hurting his knee. He did rack up 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns in that eight-game span before his injury, but a significant injury like that could give the team some pause.
Packers’ Matt LaFleur Gets Honest About Christian Watson’s New Deal