Here’s Why Torn ACL Was Excruciating for Packers’ Tucker Kraft

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The torn ACL that ended Tucker Kraft’s season hurt.

Not just the physical pain of the injury or the rehab following surgery. That pain was considerable, no doubt, but so was the pain of working to become a star but not getting to fully enjoy the fruits of his labor.

“Most people when they talk about an injury like mine, they talk about it as a setback they thought was necessary for their career, their mindset. I disagree,” Kraft, the Green Bay Packers’ star tight end, said on Monday.

“I would say I felt like I was on the cusp of putting together one of the greatest seasons by a Packer tight end, and that was something I was looking forward to was just leaving my legacy on this game.”

There’s no doubt about that. He scored a touchdown in Week 1 against Detroit. He caught six passes or 124 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 against Washington. He scored touchdowns against Cincinnati and Arizona in Weeks 5 and 6, as well, before a dominant seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh.

Through those seven games, Kraft had 30 receptions for 469 yards and six touchdowns. Heading into Week 9 against Carolina, he was on pace for 73 receptions for 1,139 yards and 15 touchdowns.

In NFL history for a tight end, he was on pace to finish 29th in yards and third in touchdowns. He almost certainly would have obliterated the team records for receptions (Jermichael Finley, 61), yards (Paul Coffman, 814) and touchdowns (Coffman and Robert Tonyan, 11).

And then against Carolina, Kraft suffered a torn ACL when offensive lineman Sean Rhyan got taken out by a Panthers defender and accidentally kicked Kraft in the knee.

Injured Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) is carted off the field during the game against the Carolina Panthers. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

So, one of the team’s most important players in terms of production, leadership and spirit was out for the rest of the season.

Kraft said he “play(ed) as hard as I could every snap for this team because, at the end of the day, the guys in this room, they mean so much to me. And when I wasn’t able to be out there for the last month-and-a-half, two months this season, was really hard on me because I stayed home and I had to watch us play games — difficult games, wins and losses — and just knowing that, if I would have been out there and contributing, maybe things would have gone different.

“But, at the end of the day, my injury is my reality, and all I can do is work and come back to be a better Packer than I was before.”

Along with the ACL, Kraft said there was a “slight” meniscus tear, which doctors took care of, and “some damage” to his LCL, which did not need to be addressed. Similar to the torn pectoral sustained during the 2024 offseason, Kraft anticipates being on the field at some point in training camp and “bulletproofed” for Week 1.

“I already feel pretty good,” he said. “My progress so far has been great. Some would say even ahead of schedule.”

Kraft was a third-round pick in the loaded tight end class of 2023. He went from barely playing at the start of his rookie season to shining in place of Luke Musgrave at the end of his rookie season to taking charge of the position in 2024 to becoming a star in 2025.

After years of work to become one of the best tight ends in the NFL, it was taken away in one fluke play.

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) celebrates his touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

“That was tough for me, just because it felt like things really slowed down,” he said. “I wasn’t feeling that stress or anxiety, mainly just excitement. I was hungry for every snap, every opportunity I could get.

“That’s going to be the same thing going forward. I don’t know entirely what my future holds in this offense, but I’m going to continue to play each play like it could be the play, as many snaps as I can get, whether that’s 40 or 65. I don’t ever want to come out of this game again.”

After the Pittsburgh game, coach Matt LaFleur said more of the offense needed to flow through No. 85.

And for good reason. Kraft caught 32-of-40 targets in eight games. Of 38 tight ends who were targeted at least 40 times, Kraft according to PFF and league data ranked:

First in yards per catch (15.3).

First in yards after the catch per catch (10.8; nobody else averaged even 7.5).

First in passer rating when targeted (157.2; max is 158.3).

Second in yards per route (2.33).

Seventh in catch percentage (80.0).

Now, as Kraft works to get back on the field, it will be up to the coaches to figure out how to get him more opportunities.

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) stiff-arms Pittsburgh Steelers safety Juan Thornhill. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

“The greatest thing throughout the year is I was able to prove time and time again what I could do with three catches, four catches, five catches,” he said. “Showing like in that Pittsburgh game, I had 140-something yards but like 90 percent of that came from the yards after catch.”

In that game, 128 of his 143 yards came after the catch, or 89.5 percent.

“So, now coming off my injury, putting myself in position to get better at things, I was really feeling my man separation coming along,” he said. “Getting the same reps, not making the same mistakes, but continuing to improve upon each opportunity. So, moving forward, I do feel like as a tight end, I’m a full package and that I can be anything for this team. Just put the ball in my hands.”

After the Pittsburgh game, the Packers were 5-1-1. They lost to Carolina, when he was injured, and Philadelphia, the first game after the injury, before running off four consecutive wins. The Packers tanked, though, with a season-ending five-game losing streak.

That means the Packers went 4-7 without Kraft.

So, as the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

“My time off the field was noticed, for sure, for the first couple of weeks,” he said, “But I’m using that to my advantage now, knowing what kind of a person I can be for this offense moving forward.

“I’ve shown now what I can do with limited opportunities. One of the big parts of our offense, (offensive coordinator Adam) Stenavich will say this, like, ‘What do you do when you get the ball? What do you do when you don’t have the ball?’ So just reassuring my coaches and my teammates that I can be a tremendous threat for opposing defenses given the opportunity. I’m really excited for next year.”

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