Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson was taken off the field by ambulance during Thursday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers — and was back on the field at Lambeau Field roughly an hour later to help close out a 27-19 win.
Watson had already posted six catches for 100 yards in the first half when he took a hard hit from two Panthers defenders in the second quarter. He was transported to a hospital for evaluation.
“It was tough, honestly. I never wanted to go [to the hospital],” Watson told Prime Video after the game. “I was hoping that they would let me off. I said I was feeling better once I kind of caught my breath. But they said there [were] a couple [of] signs that made them have to take me over there. … I’m just trying to be on a football field. That’s the first and foremost for me, so just thankful that I was able to get back out there.”
Watson said doctors were concerned after he began spitting blood following the hit, but testing ruled out internal bleeding.
“Just no like internal bleeding, no anything that was raising suspicion because I was spitting a little blood at first,” Watson said. “So they just wanted to make sure there was nothing crazy.”
While undergoing evaluation, Watson said he was able to follow the game’s progress through a hospital staffer.
“One of the doctors had his phone out. I was just watching the play-by-play. I couldn’t watch, but I was just watching the play-by-play. Uh, saw [Michael Golden’s] touchdown. I was I was I was hyped. I saw [Josh Jacobs’] touchdown. I was like, ‘Alright, we’re doing something.’ And then it got a little quiet because I was just left in the room by myself for a little while, but eventually they came in and said, ‘Alright, you’re good. We’re going back.’ And then that was that.”
Cleared by medical staff, Watson returned to Lambeau Field and finished the game with two additional catches for 13 yards. The win moved the Packers to 5-3 on the season.
