Christian Watson left Lambeau Field in an ambulance on Thursday night and came back to finish the game with a broken rib. The Green Bay Packers receiver was taken to a hospital in the second quarter of the 27-19 win over the Carolina Panthers after he landed on the ball at the end of a 53-yard catch, and he returned late in the third quarter once a CT scan ruled out anything more serious. The Panthers lost a fourth cornerback on the same play, as rookie Will Lee III was carted off with a hamstring injury. Earlier on Thursday, the official reports filled in the participation levels behind the day’s practice news, and they were mostly good for the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens and bad for the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Packers: Watson broke a rib and coughed up blood, went to the hospital and returned with extra padding; he finished with 8 catches for 113 yards
- Panthers: Will Lee III (hamstring) was carted off and did not return, leaving Carolina with three healthy cornerbacks
- Lions: Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown were full participants on Thursday after missing Wednesday
- Ravens: Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith and Vega Ioane were limited, Lamar Jackson was full again and Jaylinn Hawkins sat
- Eagles: six players did not practice, including Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks
- Patriots: A.J. Brown did not practice because of a knee issue that flared up, and his status for Sunday at Miami is up in the air
- Seahawks: no injuries on their first report before Monday night in Chicago, and Jadarian Price was designated to return
Christian Watson’s night: hospital, broken rib, return
Watson caught a 53-yard pass from Jordan Love with 9:11 left in the second quarter, landed on the ball and stayed down holding his chest. He walked to the medical tent and then to the locker room, and the Packers said he was being taken to a hospital for precautionary testing. He had six catches for 100 yards at that point.
Watson said after the game that he could not breathe after the fall and was spitting up blood, which is why the medical staff sent him for tests. A CT scan showed a fractured rib but no internal bleeding. “No internal bleeding, no anything that was raising suspicion,” Watson said. “I was spitting a little blood at first, so they just wanted to make sure there was nothing crazy.” He was cleared, rode back to the stadium, put on extra padding and returned with 4:01 left in the third quarter. Green Bay outscored Carolina 21-3 while he was gone.
“It’s pretty remarkable,” Matt LaFleur said. “He landed on the ball, I believe that’s what I was told, and he was coughing up blood. So they took him for precautionary reasons and had to check him all out.” Watson, who has a career-high receiving total this season, was more relaxed about it. “I was getting dap ups like I was getting resurrected or something,” he said. The Packers, now 5-3, have 10 days before they visit the New England Patriots on November 8, which gives the rib time to settle. The same thing happened in Denver last December, when Watson went to a hospital for a CT scan and played the following week.
Will Lee III carted off as the Panthers run out of cornerbacks
Lee made the diving tackle on Watson’s catch and immediately grabbed his left hamstring. He could not put weight on the leg and was carted to the locker room, and Carolina ruled him out for the rest of the game. The Panthers already had Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson and Akayleb Evans on injured reserve, so they finished with three healthy cornerbacks: Chau Smith-Wade, practice squad call-up Marco Wilson and Malcolm DeWalt IV, who was making his NFL debut. Carolina (3-4) is still first in the NFC South, but the extent of Lee’s injury will decide how much more help the secondary needs.
Matthew Golden, who was questionable with shoulder and foot injuries, played and caught seven passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Defensive tackle Bobby Brown III (hand) was downgraded to out for the Panthers before kickoff.
Lions and Ravens: the official Thursday levels
Gibbs (shoulder) and St. Brown (ankle) were listed as full participants after sitting out on Wednesday, the clearest sign yet that both will play when the 6-0 Minnesota Vikings visit Detroit on Sunday. Safety Kerby Joseph was limited again. Minnesota upgraded Aaron Jones Sr. (knee) to limited after he did not practice on Wednesday, and guard Joe Huber and right tackle Brian O’Neill were full participants.
In Baltimore, Hamilton, Smith and Ioane were all limited after not practicing on Wednesday, and Jackson was a full participant for the second straight day before the trip to Buffalo. Safety Jaylinn Hawkins (knee) did not practice. The Bills listed DJ Moore as limited, while right tackle Spencer Brown did not practice and Ed Oliver was full.
Six Eagles sit out again
Barkley (hamstring, back), DeVonta Smith (hamstring), Dontayvion Wicks, linebacker Jihaad Campbell, cornerback Jonathan Jones and returner Britain Covey did not practice on Thursday. Wednesday’s session was only a walk-through, so this was the first real practice the Eagles have held this week, and Barkley and Smith missed it. With Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley and Dameon Pierce all on injured reserve, Philadelphia’s backfield is thin before Sunday night’s game against the Washington Commanders.
A.J. Brown’s knee flares up
The Patriots listed A.J. Brown as a non-participant on Thursday with ankle and knee injuries, a step back after he was limited on Wednesday. Ian Rapoport reported that the knee issue had flared up and that Brown’s status for Sunday’s game at the Miami Dolphins is up in the air. Brown recently returned from injured reserve and has said his ankle is not fully healthy. Running back TreVeyon Henderson also did not practice for New England.
Ja’Marr Chase goes full, Bucky Irving gets a rest day
A day after he did not practice with an ankle injury and rest, Chase was a full participant for the Cincinnati Bengals, who host the Tennessee Titans. In Tampa Bay, Bucky Irving’s absence from Thursday’s practice was a rest day rather than a new injury, and receiver Emeka Egbuka was limited again in the concussion protocol.
Chiefs and Broncos
Kansas City listed Rashee Rice (hamstring, knee) and L’Jarius Sneed (knee) as limited, and tight end Travis Kelce (ankle) dropped from full on Wednesday to limited on Thursday. Rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane (shoulder) did not practice. Denver had Jaylen Waddle (chest) and Zach Allen (hamstring) back as limited participants, while safety Talanoa Hufanga (ankle) missed another day.
Seahawks, Chargers and Rams
The Seattle Seahawks, who play the Chicago Bears on Monday night, listed no injured players on their first report of the week, and they opened the 21-day practice window for rookie running back Jadarian Price.
Derwin James did not practice again for the Los Angeles Chargers after his hamstring setback, and he had not been moved to injured reserve as of Thursday night. “You can’t replace Derwin. It’s not possible,” defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary said. Across town, the Los Angeles Rams listed Trent McDuffie as limited, while long snapper Joe Cardona, tight end Colby Parkinson and center Coleman Shelton did not practice before the Chargers-Rams game.
Official Thursday reports at a glance
| Player | Team | Wednesday | Thursday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jahmyr Gibbs, RB | Lions | Did not practice | Full |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR | Lions | Did not practice | Full |
| Kyle Hamilton, S | Ravens | Did not practice | Limited |
| Roquan Smith, LB | Ravens | Did not practice | Limited |
| Vega Ioane, G | Ravens | Did not practice | Limited |
| Jaylinn Hawkins, S | Ravens | Did not practice | Did not practice |
| Lamar Jackson, QB | Ravens | Full | Full |
| Ja’Marr Chase, WR | Bengals | Did not practice | Full |
| Saquon Barkley, RB | Eagles | Did not practice | Did not practice |
| DeVonta Smith, WR | Eagles | Did not practice | Did not practice |
| A.J. Brown, WR | Patriots | Limited | Did not practice |
| Rashee Rice, WR | Chiefs | Limited | Limited |
| L’Jarius Sneed, CB | Chiefs | Did not practice | Limited |
| Jaylen Waddle, WR | Broncos | Did not practice | Limited |
| Zach Allen, DE | Broncos | Did not practice | Limited |
| Talanoa Hufanga, S | Broncos | Did not practice | Did not practice |
| Aaron Jones Sr., RB | Vikings | Did not practice | Limited |
| Brian O’Neill, T | Vikings | Limited | Full |
| DJ Moore, WR | Bills | Limited | Limited |
| Spencer Brown, T | Bills | Did not practice | Did not practice |
| Bucky Irving, RB | Buccaneers | Practiced | Did not practice (rest) |
| Emeka Egbuka, WR | Buccaneers | Limited | Limited |
| Derwin James, S | Chargers | Did not practice | Did not practice |
| Trent McDuffie, CB | Rams | Limited | Limited |
What to watch on Friday
Friday’s reports will carry the first game designations for Sunday’s games, so the questions about Barkley, DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, Waddle, Rice and Hawkins should start to be answered. Watch for a Derwin James injured reserve move before Saturday, an update on Lee’s hamstring, and Watson’s practice status when the Packers return next week. Thursday’s practice news is here, Wednesday’s official reports are here and the Panthers-Packers injury build-up is here.
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