As Part of Comeback, Packers TE Tucker Kraft Needs His Stinger Back

GREEN BAY, Wis. – When Tucker Kraft talked to reporters in June, he was brimming with confidence that he’d be just as good this season as he was last season despite coming off a torn ACL.

“I’m not really buying into the people come back off an injury and aren’t the same,” Kraft said at the time. “People com(ing) back off their injury, if you’re not coming back off your injury the same, then what are you doing? What were you doing your entire rehab?”

When Kraft was injured during a midseason game against Carolina, he was on top of the tight end world – or not far from it.

When Kraft said what he said, he raised the bar to perhaps an impossibly high level. After all, Kraft was coming back from a torn ACL, not a sprained ankle or groin injury. It’s a serious injury. The return-to-play standard might be nine or 10 months. The returning-to-a-player’s standard – an elite standard, in the case of Kraft – almost always takes longer.

So, it’s no knock on Kraft that he has 15 catches for 148 yards and one touchdown through four games this season after catching seven passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh in his last full game of last season.

Reminded of what he said in June, is Kraft better now than he was last year?

“Statistically, obviously not,” he said after practice on Wednesday, the first of the week before facing the Bears on Sunday. “But I feel like the game is constantly slowing down for me.”

Tucker Kraft Needs His Stinger

He spoke at length about his mental acumen. When he motions across the formation, “I can see my triangle of humans and I can make the call for our side.” In the passing game, he is “feeling more savvy” with his coverage recognition.

Then Kraft provided an interesting thought, courtesy of his own family.

“Statistically, it might not look like I’m playing better,” he continued. “Some could even say that I might’ve lost my stinger. My brothers were telling me that. They said, ‘You look like you kind of lost your edge out there.’

“They said it to me last week. I tried to go out in Tampa and be a meanie but it was too damn hot; I couldn’t breathe out there. This week, try to get back to my roots, the kind of sh** I was on my first and second year when I was playing to the echo of the whistle and being hard on the defense.”

He joked that opposing players have been coming up to him during games and congratulating him on his contract extension.

“They asked me if I was out there just being friendly,” he said of his brothers. “I’m like, ‘Well, kind of.’ It’s nice at the end of a play when a guy’s not talking crap to you but he’s dapping me up and saying, ‘Congrats on your contract’ or something like that. I’m going to have to flip the script now.”

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) leaps over Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Tykee Smith. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Reasons for Slow Start

There are reasons for Kraft’s slow start. The combination of a porous offensive line, a blitz-happy opponent and the deafening noise in Minnesota limited his chances against the Vikings. Against the Jets, he also had to help cover up for the line.

“I hate to look back, but you go back to Minnesota, and we’re second-and-12 for like a third of the game. So, I’m chipping and running to the flat,” Kraft said. “And then you’ve got the second game, away in the rain, we have a game of turnovers and still quarterback’s ending up on the ground, so not another opportunity for me to have 130 yards, eight receptions, two touchdowns.

“But there’s more to come. This is Week 5. So, we’re excited to keep this ball rolling.”

Tucker Kraft had a good YAC game against Tampa Bay. pic.twitter.com/9JsOC2x8nJ
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 8, 2026

Last week against Tampa Bay, there were signs of that ball rolling and vintage Kraft emerging. Yes, he dropped what should have been an easy touchdown. But he also turned two short catches into explosive gains with his renowned run-after-catch skills. On his first catch against the Buccaneers, he broke two tackles.

“Yeah, I’m still waiting for the big one, that vintage feeling you’re talking about,” Kraft said. “I’m still waiting on that, but I’ve learned now, really, especially with how my career started here, it’s all about just doing the most with each and every opportunity you get. So, I’m going to continue to attack that. The football is coming to me. What am I doing with the ball?”

Kraft is capable of doing great things with the ball in his hands. Against the Steelers last year, he had 128 yards after the catch. It was the most YAC by a tight end since 2018. Perhaps Kraft was guilty in June of raising the bar too high, only to be clocked by the reality of overcoming his injury and the team’s assorted problems.

Tucker Kraft Rounding Into Form?

As coach Matt LaFleur said this week, it’s important to practice; Kraft missed the offseason practices and the start of training camp and didn’t play in the preseason as he worked his way back from a major injury.

“I know we want instant gratification, and the expectation is whatever you saw that that’s what it’s going to be,” LaFleur said. “But I think for many of these guys, not just us, but around the league, guys that come off major injuries, it just takes them some time. They got to get back to playing.”

However, maybe he’s getting closer to becoming that elite version of Kraft again. In the first three games, he forced one missed tackle and had 50 yards after the catch on nine receptions. Against the Bucs, he forced two missed tackles and had 42 yards after the catch.

Of 33 tight ends who have been targeted 10 times, his 6.1 YAC per catch ranks a solid ninth, so it’s not as if he’s been bad. If he can get past his early-season drops and the offensive line allows him to be a bigger factor in the passing game, the production will return to his lofty expectations.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Kraft said of rounding into form. “And the goal is always to ascend. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. So, my goal is to walk in this building every day with the right mindset. See the film, see our run/pass pictures, and really just apply it with all the reps that I’ve had throughout my time here since 2023.

“So, yeah, I’m just trying to continue to evolve, get some more of those breakout on the field plays. That all starts with catching the ball.”

Mike McCarthy used to like telling me that stats are for losers.

Here are 3⃣ stats of note for Packers-Bears. https://t.co/rYExEU7eyS
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 7, 2026

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