GREEN BAY, Wis. — What seemed inevitable after the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Carolina Panthers is now confirmed, a league source told The Athletic’s Jeff Howe.
Standout tight end Tucker Kraft is done for the season with a torn ACL.
Kraft suffered the injury early in the third quarter of Green Bay’s 16-13 loss on Sunday when left guard Sean Rhyan’s right foot landed just below Kraft’s right knee and bent his leg awkwardly while both players were blocking during a Josh Jacobs run.
“I got f—ing cut on my pull, so I don’t know what happened,” Rhyan said. “All I know is that motherf—–’s helmet (outside linebacker Nic Scourton) was into my knees. He went low on me, so I had to try to avoid my knees getting clipped out, too. So it’s one of those things of terrible circumstances and s—. Just didn’t come out right for us.”
Kraft required help from two medical staffers to leave the field and was carted to the locker room. The tone of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur’s postgame comments indicated Kraft’s injury was serious, and now Green Bay must compensate not only for the loss of one of the league’s best tight ends but also for a team captain.
Entering Week 9, Kraft ranked third among tight ends in receiving yards, tied for second in touchdown catches and first in yards after catch per reception. Kraft was coming off a seven-catch, 143-yard, two-touchdown showing in a 35-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Sunday Night Football” and had two catches for 20 yards against the Panthers at the time of his injury. You could argue that aside from quarterback Jordan Love and defensive end Micah Parsons, Kraft is the player Green Bay could least afford to lose because of what he provides as a pass catcher and blocker.
The absence of Kraft, a 2023 third-round pick, provides an opportunity for tight end Luke Musgrave to prove he can still be the player Green Bay used a 2023 second-round pick on. Musgrave began his career looking like a potent downfield threat, but a lacerated kidney and ankle surgery over his first two seasons stunted his growth, allowing Kraft to surpass him on the depth chart. Musgrave only has nine catches for 88 yards this season, including three for 34 yards on Sunday.
“I’m very comfortable with Luke,” Love said Sunday. “I think Luke’s had his fair share of opportunities, for sure. He’s played a lot of ball and he made some big-time plays today, had a big-time catch … He’s just got to keep maximizing those opportunities.”
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