Packers News: Tucker Kraft Could Open Training Camp on the PUP List
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft could begin training camp, which opens in just over a week, on the Physically Unable to Perform list as he continues working back from a torn ACL.
“The guess here is that he won’t set foot on Ray Nitschke Field without a new deal in place,” Jason Wilde of Channel 3000 wrote in a recent report on Kraft’s situation.
Kraft is entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract, a deal worth $5.54 million that will pay him a $3.624 million base salary in 2026, currently the 36th-highest mark among NFL tight ends. That modest number, paired with a return from a serious knee injury, has fueled expectations that Green Bay will look to get a new deal in place early in camp rather than let him play out the season on his existing contract.
Kraft tore the ACL in his right knee on Nov. 2 against the Carolina Panthers, ending a season that had him playing at an elite level. Through eight games, he caught 32 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns, production that had him firmly in the conversation for the league’s best tight end before the injury cut it short.
He’ll likely be eased back into practice work once camp opens, but both Kraft and the team have expressed confidence that he’ll be ready for Green Bay’s regular-season opener on Sept. 13 against the division-rival Minnesota Vikings. Kraft has said his rehab has gone better than expected and that he intends to play without any snap restrictions once he’s back on the field.
An extension appears to be more a matter of when than if. With tight ends like Trey McBride and George Kittle resetting the position’s market over the past year, and Atlanta recently extending Kyle Pitts, Kraft is widely expected to land a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players at his position, a significant jump from his current rookie-scale salary.
If he returns healthy and picks up where he left off, Kraft profiles as a high-ceiling TE1 in fantasy formats, capable of finishing among the position’s elite if he stays on the field for a full season.
