Grading Packers’ Re-Signing of Tight End Josh Whyle

The Green Bay Packers are re-signing tight end Josh Whyle, a source told Packers On SI on Wednesday.

It’s a one-year deal for Whyle, who was scheduled to be a restricted free agent. Re-signing him was an obvious decision for general manager Brian Gutekunst, with Whyle set to provide critical depth at a position in which Tucker Kraft is coming off a torn ACL and John FitzPatrick is a free agent and coming off a torn Achilles.

As it stood, Luke Musgrave was the only healthy tight end who played significant snaps last season who was under contract for the upcoming season.

Josh Whyle Was Key Contributor

Whyle, who signed to Green Bay’s practice squad at the end of training camp when he was surprisingly released by the Titans, was promoted to the 53-man roster after Kraft’s injury. He barely played in his debut, then logged 20-plus snaps in six of his final seven games. The lone exception was the game at Denver, when he sustained a concussion on the opening possession.

“Each week I’ve tried to prepare like I’m playing in the game, so I don’t think anything’s going to change towards my preparation but, obviously, what I do counts now on Sundays,” he said after Kraft’s injury.

“But Tuck and Luke and John, they’ve all been great. When I first came in just learning the playbook and stuff. I’ve just noticed how they prepare, especially in the details. They really hit them each week. Sometimes it can monotonous, over and over, but it shows up on Sundays, and it’s really cool to see.”

In eight games, Whyle caught 5-of-6 targets for 36 yards and one touchdown. A fifth-round pick in 2023 – the same draft class that produced Kraft and Musgrave – Whyle caught 28 passes for 248 yards for the Titans in 2024.

“I like his attitude. He’s played before in Tennessee so it’s not like you’re getting a guy who’s never played in an NFL game before,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “He’s done it. He’s a big guy, he’s got good range, he’s fast and I like his mentality. He wants to be a physical player.”

At 6-foot-6 1/2 and 248 pounds, Whyle ran his 40 in 4.69 seconds before the 2023 draft. The Packers showed a lot of interest in him, meeting with him at the Senior Bowl and Scouting Combine and then bringing him in for a predraft visit.

Josh Whyle was drafted with pick 147 of round 5 in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 8.98 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 114 out of 1105 TE from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/74bp9vlBYc pic.twitter.com/ImbVM6iE0v
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 29, 2023

“I just thought it’d be a good fit for me moving forward,” he said when asked why he chose the Packers after he was released by Tennessee.

With Tennessee, Whyle caught nine passes for 94 yards in 11 games (three starts) as a rookie and 28 passes for 248 yards in 17 games (four starts) in 2024.

“He has really good ball skills for a big guy,” Titans offensive coordinator Nick Holz said in 2024. “So, that kind of target, especially in the red zone and on third down and things like that, he’s more of a matchup (problem) than he is probably given credit for. So, we'd love to get him in some of those one-on-one situations (because) he has so much height and he has really good ball skills.”

With a new coaching staff, he was released at the end of training camp.

“Maybe things didn’t fall my way through camp,” he said. “But ended up here and happy about it. It’s a good room I’m a part of. Yeah, just looking to do what I can.”

Whyle is an all-purpose tight end – perhaps not a standout at one thing but a capable producer at everything. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 108 snaps of traditional tight end, 23 snaps at fullback, 23 snaps at wide receiver and 21 snaps in the slot. He added 51 snaps on special teams.

“I just think he’s a gritty, hard-nosed competitor, and he’s got the versatility that you can move around a little bit,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

Grading Packers’ Re-Signing of Josh Whyle

This was an easy decision for the Packers. Will Kraft be ready for Week 1? And when will he be back to being the player who dominated for 40 or 50 snaps a game? Musgrave failed to take advantage of Kraft’s injury and FitzPatrick is injured.

Whyle quickly grabbed a sizeable role last season and should again.

“Obviously, came in as a tight end, but I think any way you can get on the field and make plays will be important,” quarterback Jordan Love said about Whyle after Kraft’s injury. “If that’s what it is is kind of being a hybrid, kind of F, kind of Y role, it’s whatever it takes. I think that’s his mindset, too, trying to get on the field.

“Obviously, he had a pretty cool touchdown last week [against the Giants], so stuff to keep building on with him. But I think he’s done some good things, as well. If he’s got to play fullback, I think he’ll have the right mindset to go out and do it.”

Re-signing Whyle was Capt. Obvious-level stuff. It has to be just the start, though.

Grade: B-plus.

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