When the Green Bay Packers inked wide receiver Christian Watson to a one-year, $11 million extension in September, it wasn’t a huge surprise. What made it fascinating is that he may have left money on the table, given Watson’s skill set. However, from Green Bay’s perspective, giving an extension to someone coming off a torn ACL who hadn’t yet returned to action carried its own risks.

Fast forward to the stretch run of the season, and Watson keeps proving the Packers right.

It’s not just the 51-yard touchdown reception that put the Packers in front of the Detroit Lions, 24-14, in the second half on Thanksgiving. Everyone has witnessed his dazzling top-end speed. His biggest strength coming out of North Dakota State was his ability to take the lid off a defense.

However, it wasn’t clear whether Watson had all the other necessary traits to be a complete wide receiver. He was a good run blocker when tasked with doing so in college. He’s developed into a great one in the NFL.

Watson has developed his route tree, rid himself of the drops that plagued him in his first couple of seasons, and he’s still peeling back layers of his game, getting better and better.

Just as important as the touchdown was another reception late in the game. Facing a third-and-five from their own 40-yard line with 2:48 to go and up a touchdown, quarterback Jordan Love didn’t hesitate on his target to move the sticks. It was Watson who made quick work of Detroit cornerback Terrion Arnold on a simple out route to pick up the first down.

Someone who entered the league as a deep threat with a lot of raw talent and has dealt with injuries has molded into arguably Green Bay’s best wide receiver. In a two-year stretch, the Packers drafted Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks. Doubs has been as solid as they come. But there’s no doubting that the biggest improvements out of the group have come from Watson.

Watson spoke with reporters after signing his extension in September and noted that getting it done — and thus avoiding playing on the final year of his deal after the ACL injury — alleviated some pressure.

The gist of the deal really was what it was: It’s to take a little bit of pressure off myself to feel like I have to do more than I should be doing to get back, and once I got back … being as smart with it, trying to go out there and just not do too much. So for me, it was really just to take that pressure off myself, so I can kind of just go out there when I get back and just play free. It’s definitely a blessing. It means a lot to me, and I’m glad we were able to get it done.

For the Packers, it’s already proving to be one hell of a bargain.

Watson hasn’t played fewer than 73% of the snaps on offense in any of the last four games. It’s by far the second-most on the team during that stretch and trailing only Doubs.

Despite playing in only six games this year while rehabbing his knee, Watson already has 21 receptions and three touchdowns. In 15 games last year, he had 29 receptions and two touchdowns. Watson is being used more this year, averaging 4.8 targets per game compared to 3.5 last year. He ran 16.3 routes per game in 2024, but that number has ballooned to 25.2 this season.

Watson is proving his worth, and he already knew it before signing the extension. As he said back in September:

I think that I know what I’m worth as a player when comparing it to the market and whatnot. But it’s a risk and reward when it comes down to it with the injuries that I’ve had in the past and obviously coming back from a major injury like this. So just weighing the risk and weighing the reward of going both ways with it.

The Packers aren’t and weren’t blind to it. Among the many times head coach Matt LaFleur has praised Watson this year came after the Sunday Night Football victory in Pittsburgh.

He brings an element to our offense and to our team, just the size, the speed, and I’ve talked about it many times, just his versatility… You saw his presence felt not only in the passing game with those explosion plays, but also as a blocker downfield. I mean, he had a heck of a block on Tucker’s, his first touchdown. There was some good stuff in the run game, so he’s just a really valuable piece for us.

Health is wealth, and that’s been Watson’s greatest struggle during his young NFL career. If he’s good to go for the rest of the year, once the Packers get Reed and Matthew Golden back, the sky is the limit with the offense.

Yankees Get the Best Free Agency News Ever

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The Yankees got great news on their pursuit of Tatsuya Imai

The New York Yankees need to get busy. While other MLB teams are making big moves in the pitching department, the Yankees haven’t made the splash that everyone is waiting for. While the most ink has been spilled regarding what infielders and outfielders the Yankees will target, what they do on the mound may be more critical. Despite the Boston Red Sox trading for Sonny Gray and the Toronto Blue Jays signing Dylan Cease, the Yankees have been linked to a few big names. Devin Williams, Tatsuya Imai, and Michael King are among those linked.

It was known that the Yankees have stiff competition to sign the starting pitcher they are favored to land. However, a new report suggests that one team may not be as serious a contender to sign him as initially thought.

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Major Contender for Tatsuya Imai Dropping Out of Race?

One MLB insider is pouring cold water on the theory that the San Francisco Giants are the frontrunners for Imai. ESPN journalist Buster Olney shared a new report that should have Yankees fans jumping for joy.

“The Giants have been repeatedly linked to Tatsuyi Imai, the premier free agent pitcher from Japan,” Olney wrote in a social media post on November 29, 2025. “But a lot of their market pitching inquiries have been for more modestly priced arms — a strong indication they aren’t chasing the highest priced pitchers, like Imai.”

Another recent post that adds fuel to this fire involves the Yankeesource user on X.

“NPB Scout on Imai and Yankees fit: ‘he’s a good pitcher for that city,” their post from November 29th says. “Fans will love his demeanor. He enjoys pressure.”

This feels like a perfect storm for the Yankees. Imai has recently spoken about taking down the Los Angeles Dodgers rather than joining them. Combine that with the recent reveal about the Giants, and it’s nothing but good news.

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The Yankees’ Good News Doesn’t Stop There

The other good news for the Yankees is a little more obvious.

The Blue Jays made waves earlier in the week. They signed Cease to a reported eight-year contract, although the team has yet to officially confirm the news.

Should this report turn out to be true, it turns the Yankees’ good news into the best news ever.

The Blue Jays were reported to be in on Imai. Even as recently as November 26th, Toronto had eyes on Imai, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.

So did signing Cease change all of that? Yes and no.

For starters, they aren’t as desperate to add another arm to the mound. However, if the Blue Jays are going to be as aggressive as everyone is suggesting, it would be wise to not count them out.

However, Jon Heyman reports that the Blue Jays’ next move will be adding a late-inning arm to their bullpen. Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez are potential targets for Toronto. So, they aren’t out of the starting pitchers market; they are just temporarily shifting focus.

The time is now for the Yankees to get their guy. The iron has never been hotter.