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Packers’ Breakout Star Tucker Kraft Carted Off Field With Knee Injury vs. Panthers

Liam McKeone

Tucker Kraft appeared to hurt his knee against the Panthers on Sunday.
Tucker Kraft appeared to hurt his knee against the Panthers on Sunday. / NFL on Fox
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The Packers sat atop the NFC North entering Week 9 action thanks to a 5–1–1 record and a well-rounded offense led by Jordan Love. Tight end Tucker Kraft is the breakout star of this year’s campaign though. A third-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, Kraft recorded a pair of 100-yard outings in seven games entering Week 9 and established himself as one of the top receiving tight ends in the league, particularly after the catch.

Kraft seemed ready to show out again on Sunday with the Panthers in town but was limited to two catches for 20 yards in the first half. Then disaster struck in the second half.

The Packers had the ball in the third quarter and on one play Kraft pulled from the left side of the line to the right in order to block for his running back. However, he seemed to take an awkward hit to the knee in the process. He hit the ground and stayed down, clearly in pain, before he was eventually carted off the field. Kraft suffered a knee injury in practice earlier this season as well.

Shortly afterwards the Packers called Kraft questionable to return with a knee injury.

It is a terrible turn of events. Green Bay relies on Kraft quite a bit as a receiver and he’s turned into one of Love’s favorite targets. He has 30 catches on the year for 469 yards and six touchdowns already. The 2025 season was shaping up to be a Pro Bowl campaign for Kraft with no small possibility he could earn his first All-Pro selection despite stiff competition.

A tough blow for the 24-year-old and the Packers. At the time of Kraft’s injury Green Bay trailed Carolina, 7-6.

Packers’ postgame update on Tucker Kraft

The Packers went on to lose to the Panthers without Kraft, falling victim to a last-second field goal as Carolina pulled off the 16-13 upset. Speaking to media postgame, coach Matt LaFleur offered an update on Kraft’s status, and it wasn’t positive.

Per multiple reporters in attendance, LaFleur said Kraft’s knee injury was “serious” and “doesn’t look good.” He also called on Kraft’s Green Bay teammates to be ready to step up and fill the void he’ll leave in the offense.

Additionally, The Athletic's Mike Silver reported that "the fear" is that it's an ACL injury for Kraft, which would likely be season-ending.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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