GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) — Over his first two NFL seasons, Christian Watson has missed 11 games. Largely because of his right hamstring.
This offseason, the Packers wide receiver is hoping to find the root cause of that recurring injury.
"I'm not going to say it's my fault, but it's my body," Watson said Monday as the Packers cleaned out their lockers for the season.
"I've got to take accountability," he added. "I've got to find a way to not have it happen in the first place."
Watson said he's spent "tens of thousands of dollars" of his own money trying to diagnose the issue.
"The cost doesn't really matter to me as much as figuring it out and getting it taken care of," Watson said. "I'm going to continue to do so and spend what I need to spend to get it taken care of and hopefully once I get it taken care of I'll be able to maintain it a little better."
Packers management will take an active approach, as well. PackersNews.com reports both Watson and Eric Stokes will see a hamstring specialist at UW-Madison in the coming weeks.
"(The hamstring is) something that we need to figure out because he is an impact player," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said of Watson. "We see his value when he's going at full strength. His ability to make plays for us.
"We're better when he's on the grass," LaFleur added.
The first step is finding out an exact cause can be pinpointed. Watson - a long, lean athlete with rare speed for his size - has had at least three different hamstring injuries during his short NFL career.
"I don't necessarily know if it's a strength thing," he said. "It could be flexibility. I know for a fact that my hamstrings are strong.
"I'm trying to stay in the right spot mentally," Watson added. "I don't want to let it consume my life but you know everyone says it: your availability is your best ability so I've got to find a way to stay out there."
In nine games this season, Watson had 28 catches for 422 yards and five touchdowns. Four of his five scores came in the three most recent games before his injury on December 3.
Watson returned to play in both playoff games but was targeted only three times and finished with two catches for 20 yards.
