Packers Left Reeling by Tucker Kraft’s Torn ACL

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers suffered a devastating injury during Sunday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers when premier tight end Tucker Kraft suffered a torn ACL.

“Yeah, it doesn’t look good,” coach Matt LaFleur said, striking an ominous tone.

The initial diagnosis was confirmed following testing on Monday. He will miss the rest of the season and will be challenged to get back on the field for the start of the 2026 season.

There is no good news on Tucker Kraft's injury. According to a source, it indeed is a torn ACL.
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 3, 2025

How can the Packers overcome the loss of one of their premier players?

“It’s going to be tough,” LaFleur said. “But it’s football. The other guys are going to have to step up.”

In Green Bay’s deep passing attack, Kraft had emerged as the most dangerous target. With Kraft putting up big numbers the previous two games, Green Bay beat the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers on the road. With Kraft going down on the opening series of the second half against the Panthers, the Packers were unable to rally to a fourth consecutive victory.

“Tuck means a lot,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “I think his leadership role and then, obviously, his play on the field. He’s been playing at a high level. We’ll see what the injury is, but not having him out there for the rest of the game was huge. It’s one of those situations, though. It’s the next man up. We’ve got to find ways to keep playing at a high level without him out there.”

Kraft was injured blocking on the fifth play of the second half. He was going from left to right to block for Josh Jacobs when he collided with Sean Rhyan in the backfield. He immediately grabbed his right knee. While he was able to walk off the field and into the blue medical tent with the help of trainers, he was carted to the locker room.

“I got f***ing cut on my pull, so I don't know what happened,” Rhyan said. “All I know is that mother f***er’s helmet was into my knees. He went low on me, so I had to try to avoid my knees getting clipped out, too. So, it’s one of those things of terrible circumstances and sh**, just didn’t come out right for us.”

Here's the Kraft play, with Sean Rhyan pulling and getting taken out, creating the pileup. pic.twitter.com/liibp6yOV8
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 3, 2025

Initially, the Packers announced he was questionable to return. In the fourth quarter, the team ruled him out.

After a breakout second season, there were high hopes that Kraft could become a true star at the position. He was well on his way.

Kraft entered Sunday’s games ranked 10th among tight ends with 32 receptions, second with 489 yards, first with 15.3 yards per catch, second with six touchdowns and 10th with an 82.1 percent catch rate. He was No. 1 among all non-running backs in yards after the catch per catch.

With a position-best 69.9 yards per game, he was on pace to finish with 1,187 yards, which would have smashed Paul Coffman’s franchise-record 814.

During last week’s win over Pittsburgh, when Kraft caught seven passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns in a dominant performance, he joined Coffman as the only tight ends in Packers history with 100-plus receiving yards and two-plus touchdowns in a game. Kraft had Coffman beat by 19 yards.

The 143 yards were the second-most by a tight end this season. His 124 yards in Week 2 against Washington were the third-most yards. Of the 11 tight ends with a two-touchdown game this season, Kraft had the most catches and yards.

And now, the Packers – a team that has looked like a championship contender for a big chunk of the season – will move into the second half of the season without their best offensive playmaker.

It’s a devastating blow. There’s almost no way to overstate what Kraft means as a leader, playmaker and blocker.

“Yeah, it’s going to be tough,” LaFleur said. “It’s going to be tough, but you’ve got to attack it head on, and we’ve got to do a great job of putting our guys in good positions to showcase what they can do. Luke’s played a ton of ball for us, and he’s going to get more of an opportunity.”

Luke, of course, is Luke Musgrave. He was a second-round pick in 2023, taken one round before the Packers took Kraft. He was on his way to setting Packers rookie records for most catches and yards by a tight end until he suffered a kidney injury, which opened a door that Kraft never allowed to reopen.

Including his three catches on Sunday, Musgrave has nine catches for 88 yards this season.

“I’m just going to focus on doing my job,” Musgrave said. “I’m just going to do my job.”

John FitzPatrick is the other tight end on the 53-man roster. Musgrave can handle some of the pass-catching duties and FitzPatrick can handle some of the run-blocking duties. None of them can be an every-down difference-maker like Kraft, which is why he was playing 91.5 percent of the snaps.

The Packers released Ben Sims last week and he wound up on the Vikings’ 53-man roster. Josh Whyle is on the practice squad. A fifth-round pick by the Titans in that same 2023 class, he caught nine passes as a rookie and 28 passes last season.

The injury “definitely” hit the team on the field, Love said.

“I think anytime it’s a knee injury, it’s hard not to think of the worst-case scenario,” Love said. “It’s tough to see anybody get injured; it’s tough to see Tuck injured on the ground. But you’re praying for him, hoping for the best, hoping it’s nothing too serious that he can come back from. But it’s football. It’s a violent game, a lot of injuries happen, and you hate to see it.

“So, it’s tough, but on-the-field the emotions that come with it, you’ve got to find ways to overcome that and keep going.”

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