After Latest Injury, Watkins Ready for ‘Something Better’

Sammy Watkins signed with the Green Bay Packers in hopes of staying healthy and penning the next chapter of his career.

Instead, it was the same old story. Watkins made it through only two games.

After a big game against the Chicago Bears in Week 2, Watkins injured a hamstring at practice. Watkins landed on injured reserve, marking the fourth time in five years the former No. 4 overall pick missed at least four games.

“Very (disappointing),” Watkins said after returning to practice on Wednesday, “because I had a great camp and then had a great game and then to have that, it was like, ‘Man, dang.’ I thought it was all going well. But I’ve been there before.

“I think it’s part of the journey. When adversity strikes, I think God sets you up for something better later. It made me focus back on my body and [being] in tune with myself, and I handled it well. This is the fastest I ever recovered from a hamstring injury, three weeks, so that’s a great feeling. So, mentally, I’m good and I just can’t wait to go back out there, blocking, catching balls and doing whatever I can to help the team.”

The Packers can’t wait, either. The last time Watkins played, he caught three passes for 93 yards and helped fuel the best rushing attack of the season. Without Watkins, the Packers lost the last two games, scoring a dismal 10 points in a home loss to the Jets on Sunday.

Before practice, coach Matt LaFleur downplayed the possibility that Watkins could return for Sunday’s game at the Washington Commanders. That, however, is Watkins’ plan.

“I felt great. I’m preparing to play,” he said. “That’s my goal. After that, the coach is going to evaluate me, the trainers, if they give me the OK to play, how many snaps they allow me to play. If they don’t, I might be upset but, at the same time, I know they know what they’re doing, and I’m pretty sure they’re looking at the bigger picture, but I’m preparing to play.”

For some players coming back from injuries, such as running back Kylin Hill, the three-week window to return to the roster is the equivalent of training camp and a time to gain confidence that the injury has healed. For Watkins, most of that process already happened. He said he cut it loose last week, so this week isn’t about making sure the hamstring is fit to play in a game.

“I know I can pretty much move. I’m not really worried about running full speed,” Watkins said. “I think it’s just the mentality, the mindset, getting back in the groove of catch and run, making a move. I think that’s critical. And the going and getting hit, getting that block, and how long can I do those things. I’ve got to get in shape, and that’s what I’m doing this week: pushing myself to where I’ve got to make sure I can play. I don’t want to have a doubt to where oh, this and that. I‘ve got to go, make sure nothing’s going to happen or I’m going to go out there and have it happen again.”

For Watkins, it can’t happen again. When he signed in free agency, the goal was a win-win relationship. Watkins was the first receiver selected in 2014 and had his lone 1,000-yard season in 2015. Since then, Green Bay is his fourth team. He hasn’t finished with 700 yards, let alone 1,000. So, the 29-year-old needed a big season to show he was a viable performer.

The Packers, of course, needed Watkins to pick up at least some of the slack created by the offseason trade of Davante Adams.

Instead, Watkins was hurt. Again. Over the last six-plus seasons, he’s missed 31 of a possible 103 games. Meanwhile, the Packers have sputtered on offense, entering this week ranked 24th in scoring.

Watkins showed he could be an impact player vs. Chicago. The key is to do it this week, next week, the week after that and so on.

“When things like that happen, it’s out of your control,” Watkins said. “Very upset but, at the same time, I always think like, man, it’s part of the journey. Good things happen when you go and have adversity, so my job is to come back stronger, healthier and try to will my way to stay healthy through the rest of the season and come back and make the plays that I’m used to making.”

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