If Tucker Kraft Can’t Play, Packers Will Be Short on Weapons vs. Browns

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft sustained a knee injury at Thursday’s practice.

A source called it a “tweak scare.” Could he play against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday?

Not having Kraft available would be a major blow for the Packers, who already will line up without standout receiver Jayden Reed, especially against the Browns’ top-ranked defense. Suddenly, an offense that had an abundance of weapons when at full strength might have to overcome a significant lack of firepower.

The Packers have five healthy receivers: Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Matthew Golden, Malik Heath and Savion Williams. Plus, they have three healthy tight ends: Luke Musgrave, John FitzPatrick and Ben Sims.

Combined, Kraft (eight catches, 140 yards, two touchdowns) and Reed (three catches, 45 yards one touchdown in Week 1) have caught 11 passes for 185 yards and three scores. That represents 31.4 percent of the catches, 38.5 percent of the yards and 75.0 percent of the touchdowns.

While the Packers have a bunch of good receivers, Kraft is a very good tight end who could be on his way to excellence. He is a factor in every facet of the game, whether it’s point-of-attack blocking, turning a short catch into a big gain or stretching the field.

Musgrave will have to pick up the slack. As a second-round pick in 2023, Musgrave was on his way to smashing the Packers’ receiving records by a rookie tight end until he suffered a kidney injury against the Chargers. That opened the door for Kraft, who had been mostly a nonfactor to that point as a rookie third-round pick.

The rest, as they say, is history.

If Kraft can’t play or is limited, Musgrave will have an opportunity to be the premier player against the Browns.

Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave (88) catches a pass against the Dallas Cowboys in a wild-card playoff game. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

In 2024, Musgrave missed 10 games with an ankle injury that required surgery. In seven games, he caught seven passes for 45 yards, with only one catch of longer than 6 yards. In the first two games of this season, he has three catches for 36 yards, including a 23-yarder last week.

“Luke’s had as good a camp as I’ve seen,” offensive passing game coordinator Jason Vrable said on Thursday. “I think he’s truly healthy. He’s been flying around. It’s not that he hasn’t had success in the games, it’s just those two years the injuries set him back.

“I think he’s been playing with supreme confidence. The one practice we had at home [against Seattle], it was basically ‘The Musgrave Show.’ I think he caught three balls over 20 yards in the air. I told our tight ends coach the other day, ‘This is the best I’ve seen him since he’s been in the building.’”

While the focus will be on Musgrave if Kraft is out, FitzPatrick would gain a more significant role, as well. Through Week 2, Musgrave has played 38 snaps to FitzPatrick’s 36. Given the power of the Browns’ defense, which ranks No. 1 in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game and per carry, FitzPatrick might wind up playing even more than Musgrave to help bludgeon Cleveland’s powerful defensive front, which is led by All-Pro Myles Garrett.

“He’s been a great addition from our scouting department,” Vrable said of FitzPatrick, who was signed off the Falcons’ practice squad after Musgrave went on injured reserve last year. “He’s another guy I feel like with learning the system, being here, he’s done a tremendous job. He has great hands, he’s a very intelligent player.

“If you watch him, Week 1, you talk about setting a tone on players, he’s a guy who will do every single job that we ask him to do and he’s going to be physical and violent near the point of attack. So, I’m excited for him wherever he’s at with the growth of his career.”

Sims, who played in all 34 games with six starts during his first two seasons, has been a healthy scratch to start this season. Even if Kraft is in the lineup on Sunday, Sims might get his first action of the year.

“I like our tight end room,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “All the guys have played, so we'll be able to figure out the best path forward, depending on what happens there with Tucker.”

While the offense should be able to function with the separate strengths of the remaining players at tight end and receiver, there’s no sugarcoating the potential challenge of facing an elite defense without the team’s best receiver and best tight end.

Since the Packers drafted Reed, Musgrave and Kraft in 2023, the team has eight 100-yard receiving performances in 53 regular-season games. Reed has four; he’s out after last week’s broken collarbone. Watson has two; he’s out following last year’s torn ACL. Kraft has one and Bo Melton, who is playing cornerback now, has the other.

“I don’t think you replace guys in this league, that doesn’t happen,” Vrable said. “They’re great players for a reason. With J-Reed, he’s done a tremendous job. We’ll miss him, for sure. I told him that yesterday when I called him, but I think when you train guys the right way and the culture in the room is built the right way, you put a lot of pressure on your backups to get those reps and, whoever is in there, I truly have full confidence in whoever’s out there at all times in the game.

“You continue to just trust your process, whoever’s in there, that our belief in our offensive system is going to create explosive plays and win.”

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