GREEN BAY, Wis. – Sammy Watkins was “on the couch getting fat,” staring into the abyss of life after the NFL, when his phone rang this spring.  

He didn’t expect the call that might revive a career on life support. The timing felt like something more than coincidence. At the start of this offseason, Watkins questioned whether he'd played his final snap eight years after being the first receiver taken in the 2014 draft. He had stopped working out, spending time instead with his wife and kids, watching the scale tick up to 220 pounds.