Jason Owens Staff writer Fri, October 30, 2026 at 4:28 AM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this story A trip to the hospital for coughing up blood did not end Christian Watson's night on the football field.
The Green Bay Packers wide receiver returned to Lambeau Field during Thursday's game against the Carolina Panthers after leaving the first half in an ambulance with a chest injury.
Watson left the hospital around halftime and returned to the game with 4:01 remaining in the third quarter with Green Bay holding a 27-13 lead. He continued to play through the conclusion of the Packers' 27-19 win .
After the game, Watson told the Amazon's Kaylee Hartung that he didn't want to go to the hospital but that team medical staff sent him due to a "couple of signs" indicating that he needed to go. One of those signs was Watson spitting up blood.
"No internal bleeding, no anything that was raising suspicion," Watson said of being cleared to return. "I was spitting a little blood at first, so they just wanted to make sure there was nothing crazy. … I cleared everything and was able to get back out."
Watson added that getting back on the football field was his top priority.
"I'm trying to be out on the football field, that's first and foremost to me," Watson said.
Watson told reporters postgame that he couldn't breath on the field after falling on the ball after a catch. He confirmed that he was "coughing up blood" and that a CT scan revearled a fractured rib.
Doctors cleared him to play with the rib fracture, so he he rushed back to Lambeau Field to finish the game with extra padding around his injury.
"I told them before we even left that I wanted to go back out there, so I was gonna make sure I was gonna be able to get back out there if they let me," Watson said.
The Packers told reporters after halftime that Watson cleared medical testing at a local hospital and was returning to Lambeau Field. At that point he was officially listed as questionable and jogged out of the ambulance upon his return to the stadium.
He then jogged on to the field, much to the delight of the Lambeau Field crowd.
Then, with the Packers holding a 27-13 lead and 4:01 remaining on the third quarter, Watson put on his helmet and returned to the game.
Watson sustained his injury early in the second quarter. He was able to walk off the field and into the ambulance on his own power. The Packers announced that he had sustained a chest injury and was being transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons.
The injury took place on a collision after Watson caught a 53-yard pass in the second quarter.
He remained down on the field for several moments, then walked to the sideline medical tent. After a quick visit in the tent, he walked off the field. He was seen getting into an ambulance moments later.
His night appeared over amid concern about his health. But he was back on the field in the third quarter and finished the game. He caught two more passes after his return, including a late third-down conversion to help ice the Green Bay win.
Watson is in the midst of a breakout campaign in his fifth NFL season as one of the league's most productive receivers. With eight catches for 113 yards Thursday night, Watson is up to 42 catches for 708 yards and 6 touchdowns this season. His yardage tally is already a career high eight games into the season.
It appears that he'll be able to add to that tally without missing any further time with his injury.
Panthers cornerback Will Lee III collided with Watson on the play and was also injured. He left the field on a cart and did not return due to a hamstring injury.
Source: Sports
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