After a dominant, injury-shortened breakout, the Green Bay Packers' star tight end faces a pivotal recovery. Experts weigh in on whether the Packers will risk their top playmaker before Week 1.
Green Bay Packers' star tight end Tucker Kraft is coming off a torn ACL that he suffered in November of the 2025 season.
Before that moment, Kraft was playing like one of the best tight ends in the game. In his third season with the Packers after being selected as the 78th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
To that point, which came during the third quarter of a 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers on November 2, Kraft had caught 32 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 15.3 yards per catch.
He had become quarterback Jordan Love's most consistent target, and even considering his injury, he finished Top 10 amongst all NFL tight ends in yards after the catch with 344.
Kraft averaged a tremendous 10.8 YAC. That was the third-highest in the entire league behind just running backs Jaylen Warren and Bijan Robinson.
The All-Pro potential was there. We all saw it.
Now the only question for Kraft is whether or not he can recover from this injury and get back to full strength to continue his ascendance up the NFL star power ladder.
All indications are that he's on track. In fact, he revealed earlier this summer that he's been able to run up to 21.5 miles per hour on a treadmill, and he's anticipating playing in Week 1 of the 2026 season with no restrictions.
But will he play in the preseason?
The conventional wisdom would be that he could use a few live reps in the preseason against guys in a different color jersey to try to shake some of the rust off. ESPN's Rob Demovsky doesn't think that will be the case, though.
Demovsky believes Kraft will use training camp to get back into game shape, but he doesn't think the Packers are going to risk playing the star tight end in a preseason game.
"The budding star tight end said he expects to start Week 1 without any limitations, but to do that he will have to get some work in during training camp after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair his right ACL, which he tore in Week 9," Demovsky recently wrote. "That doesn't necessarily mean he needs to play in a preseason game. In fact, he probably won't, but the Packers are going to want to see him practice before the week of the opener at Minnesota."
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) scores a two point conversion in the fourth quarter against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) and Andrew Van Ginkel (43) during their football game Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. © Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.Again, it may make sense for the Packers to at least get Kraft out there for a few preseason reps. Perhaps he's mentally tough enough for his first collisions to come against the Minnesota Vikings, but there's a ton riding on that game for the Packers. There's a ton riding on it for Kraft as well, because as of right now, he's the only player on the "core" of this team that doesn't have a new extension.
Perhaps it would be best to knock the cobwebs off, just for a few snaps, against the Steelers on August 13 in the first preseason game. Sure, there are no stakes in that one, but that's half the point.
Get him in, get him out, and make sure he's ready to go for Week 1.
However the Packers do it, that's the most important thing. If Kraft can quickly get back into the form he was showing off last season, he'll be one of the top tight ends in the NFL by midseason.
