Packers Perhaps Made First Move Before Activating Christian Watson

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In order for the Green Bay Packers to activate Christian Watson from injured reserve in time for Sunday night’s game at the Pittsburgh Steelers, they’ll have to make a corresponding roster move.

That’s been done. According to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers will release third-year tight end Ben Sims on Saturday.

Meanwhile, it appears that Watson broke his own news on Saturday.

It doesn't require too much reading between the lines to see that Christian Watson broke his own news this morning. ⬇️https://t.co/2mQRMb9xlm
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 25, 2025

Sims had been the team’s No. 4 tight end. In six games this season, Sims played in three with one snap on offense and 14 on special teams.

John FitzPatrick, who moved past Sims during training camp by showing he’s more than just a big-bodied blocker, has played in all six games with 89 snaps on offense and 25 on special teams. He has four receptions for 20 yards, including the team’s only touchdown in the loss at Cleveland.

Sims, who initially joined the Packers after going undrafted in 2023 and spending his rookie training camp with the Vikings, played in 37 games with Green Bay. He played in all 17 games with five starts last year and caught four passes for 42 yards. His lone touchdown came as a rookie.

“Just stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” Sims said when star starter Tucker Kraft was injured early in the season. “I very much treat this on a week-to-week basis as my process and I stick to my schedule and routine, and I did nothing different this week than I did last week. I don’t know if I’m active or inactive until a couple hours before the game, anyways. So, my preparation has to be the same on a week-to-week basis.”

The Packers could re-sign him to the practice squad. That would require a player to be released. Sims might also prefer to find an opportunity where he can play.

The Packers had a couple avenues toward creating a roster spot. With Jacob Monk off of injured reserve last week and rookie offensive tackle Anthony Belton healthy again, they could have released guard Donovan Jennings.

They also could have opted to release kicker Lucas Havrisik after veteran Brandon McManus kicked well at Thursday’s practice. However, the Packers will keep both kickers for the week, perhaps a signal that Havrisik will get the call against the Steelers.

McManus is questionable on the injury report.

“Yeah, it’s been nothing short of remarkable in my opinion,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Havrisik, who made all 10 kicks against Cincinnati and Arizona, including key field goals in both games.

“Here’s a guy who hadn’t played within a team setting – obviously he’s kicking and he’s going on the tryout circuit – but to actually have to go in there in high-pressure situations and make big-time kicks and to come through and flawless in that regard I think has been pretty special.”

Meanwhile, Watson appears cleared for takeoff. He suffered a torn ACL in Week 18 at Chicago and returned to practice on Oct. 6. With the 21-day return-to-play window close to expiring, the Packers appear poised to unleash Watson.

“It means the world to me to be able to look forward to the opportunity to play some football again,” Watson said.

Getting Watson back, whatever the circumstances, would be important considering he’s a big-play target and a quality perimeter blocker. However, with Dontayvion Wicks out and Matthew Golden questionable, Watson could provide a critical lift against the Steelers.

Pittsburgh’s questionable turf was not on his mind.

“My goal is to, when I’m going to be able to play, I’m going to be at 100 percent,” he said. “When I’m at 100 percent, obviously, in years past, I wasn’t thinking about the surfaces and everything. If I’m worried about the turf, then, honestly, I probably wouldn’t be playing, anyway. My goal is to feel 100 percent so that’s not really something that we’re thinking about, for sure.”

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