Packers Rocked by Awful News
The Green Bay Packers suffered a damning defeat on Sunday, and along the way, the club lost tight end Tucker Kraft for the season.
The Minnesota Vikings’ primary foe, the Green Bay Packers, lost a game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, and that may not have been the worst news.
Kraft injured his knee in Week 9, and that’s a wrap on his 2025 campaign.
Packers TE Tucker Kraft Gone for the Season
A brutal blow for the Packers’ Super Bowl aspirations.
Packers Endure ACL Tear for Tucker Kraft
The stage was set after Green Bay’s loss to the Panthers. The outlook appeared grim via ESPN.
Rob Demovsky wrote Sunday, “The Packers fear tight end Tucker Kraft tore his right ACL during Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers, a source told ESPN. Kraft, the Packers’ top pass catcher, suffered the injury in the third quarter and was ruled out of the game in the fourth. He is set to undergo additional testing Monday, according to Packers coach Matt LaFleur.”
“Kraft appeared to injure the knee during a collision while blocking on a running play and was carted to the locker room after being examined on the sideline. The third-year pro was coming off his best career game with seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns in last weekend’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He entered Sunday’s game leading the Packers in catches (30), receiving yards (469) and touchdown catches (six).”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed the setback on Monday morning: “Tests confirmed that Packers TE Tucker Kraft did in fact tear his ACL as feared, per source.”
Kraft’s Continued Breakout So Far in 2025
Kraft had totally taken the NFL — and fantasy football — by storm, representing the next big thing at tight end in the vein of Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews of yesteryear.
Scaled to 17 games — which is now moot — Kraft was on pace for 94 receptions, 1,039 receiving yards, and 13 touchdowns. For wide receivers, the Packers seem to have about four or five men who are all “the same guy” per talent level, so employing Kraft and his intense production in the middle of the field really took the offense to a different level.
But the man is out for the season’s remainder, forcing Green Bay to adapt on the fly. The Packers consider themselves bonafide Super Bowl contenders — hence the Micah Parsons trade two months ago — meaning the Kraft adversity is particularly messy.
Next Up on the Depth Chart?
None of the following players will replace Kraft or even remotely approach it, but these are the Packers’ in-house options after the Kraft debacle:
- Luke Musgrave
- John Fitzpatrick
- Josh Whyle
Musgrave and Fitzpatrick are expected to split the immediate workload as early as next week. Green Bay could also explore another TE3 type with a free agent like Jordan Akins, Gerald Everett, Hayden Hurst, Giovanni Ricci, or C.J. Uzomah.
The Trade Options before Tuesday?
If Green Bay hopes to replace Kraft’s role with a higher-profile commodity, well, his injury had “good” timing because the trade deadline is one day away.
In theory, these tight ends could be attainable via trade:
- Mark Andrews (Baltimore Ravens)
- Tanner Hudson (Cincinnati Bengals)
- David Njoku (Cleveland Browns)
- Chig Okonkwo (Tennessee Titans)
Njoku, especially, might make sense for Jordan Love and friends, as rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. has emerged as a TE1 in Cleveland. The Packers could peel Njoku away from the Browns for a 4th-Rounder or so.
SI.com on the Kraft Injury
Bill Huber opined after Green Bay’s loss on Kraft’s injury, “It’s funny how life works in the NFL. Even when things are decidedly not funny. In 2023, rookie second-round pick Luke Musgrave looked like he was the tight end the Green Bay Packers had been seeking for years.”
“He was on his way to shattering the franchise rookie records at the position when he suffered a kidney injury on Nov. 19. It was a devastating injury for a team that was trying to make a run to the playoffs. Or so it seemed. Musgrave’s injury opened the door for the tight end the Packers drafted in the third round, Tucker Kraft.”
Many believed Musgrave was the better tight end exiting college a few years ago.
Huber continued, “At the time, Kraft had three catches for 11 yards. During the final eight games, Kraft caught 28 passes. He got open. He caught the ball. He ran over defenders. He blocked his tail off. With Kraft on his way to stardom, Musgrave became a forgotten member of the offense. Not anymore. Kraft suffered a torn ACL during Sunday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Packers will be without their elite tight end for the rest of the season.”
“It’s a devastating blow. But the door finally has reopened for Musgrave. It sucked for Musgrave in 2023, but Kraft took advantage. It sucks for Kraft in 2025. Can Musgrave take advantage?”
Minnesota travels to Green Bay for the teams’ first meeting of 2025 in three weeks.
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