The Green Bay Packers can't mess this up.
NFL analyst Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report believes the Green Bay Packers' most important contract decision ahead of the 2026 season is Tucker Kraft.
Kraft is entering the final season of his rookie contract. Both he and the Packers have expressed a desire to get a deal done as soon as possible, perhaps even before the start of the season.
"I think it would be best if we got it done as soon as possible," Kraft said Wednesday (7/29).
Kraft is coming back from the ACL tear he suffered last season on November 2 against the Carolina Panthers. He was activated off the physically unable to perform list.
Kraft appeared in eight games last season and finished with 32 receptions for 489 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.
The Packers selected Kraft with the 78th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The South Dakota State product has 113 catches for 1,551 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns with Green Bay.
"He's still at about that 8½-month mark," Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said earlier last week. "But the way he looks, you'd think he's ready to go, because when you see him out there, it's a little bit like Christian [Watson looked last year]. Those guys, they look really, really good early. But there's a lot of science behind the nine-month mark, and so we'll be very cautious as we head into it."
"It'll be no team [drills]," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said before last Friday's practice, via ESPN. "So, we're just going to kind of get him back ingrained into the process and into individual. What's great is when they do come off PUP, then now he can partake in some of the walk-through periods, especially that we do in the evenings, just to get him back hearing the call, lining up and then just going through that."
Once the Packers are confident that Kraft is healthy, the TE should get his payday quickly.
The Packers went 9-7-1 last season and lost to the Chicago Bears in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Kraft and Co. open the 2026 season against the Minnesota Vikings.
