One of the Green Bay Packers’ biggest injury questions to start the 2026 season is now answered. That question revolved around when tight end Tucker Kraft would be cleared to return to practice coming off his torn ACL, and we now have our answer: that day is today.
On Friday morning ahead of the Packers’ third practice of training camp, head coach Matt LaFleur told the media that Kraft has officially been activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list and will participate in the day’s practice session.
LaFleur did note that Kraft will not participate in team drills, only doing individual work to get him up to speed.
The Packers are scheduled to have a day off from practice on Saturday, which will give Kraft one more day before potentially stepping in as part of the team portion of practice on Sunday.
Kraft’s return aligns closely with the expectations he has been communicating all offseason, as he had indicated that he expected to be ready to start practicing early on in training camp. It comes at a critical time as well, with the Packers suddenly facing questions about the availability of Luke Musgrave.
Musgrave, who like Kraft was a day-two draft pick in 2023, is on the PUP list himself with a neck injury that gives him an uncertain timeline on a return. LaFleur said on Friday that Musgrave’s injury would “work itself out,” but added that it “will not be in the short term.” That’s a discouraging sign for the fourth-year tight end, who dealt with significant injuries in each of his first two NFL seasons before finally playing all 17 games in 2025, and it causes an unfortunate depth concern at tight end, a position where Kraft, Musgrave, and Josh Whyle are the only players on the roster who have taken NFL snaps at the position.
It was Musgrave’s lacerated kidney as a rookie that brought Kraft into the starting lineup in 2023, allowing him to grab hold of that job. Kraft started every game from the following week until suffering his torn ACL during the Packers’ week 9 loss to the Carolina Panthers last November 2nd. His activation from the PUP list comes almost nine months to the day after that injury, which closely follows the timeline that Christian Watson followed last season — Watson tore his ACL on January 5, 2025, then returned to practice nine months and one day later, on October 6 of that year, though his first game action came about three weeks later on October 26.
That timeline also is important to monitor for Micah Parsons, the Packers’ other star player coming off a torn ACL this year. His injury took place in Denver last season on December 14. Nine months from that date would be September 14th, one day after the Packers’ season opener against the Minnesota Vikings. If Parsons starts the regular season on the PUP list, he would not be able to begin practicing until a week later, following the Packers’ week two contest, but he would be eligible to return as early as week five against the Chicago Bears.
Kraft returning to the practice field early in camp should ensure that he is in game shape in time for the season opener, which is just over six weeks away. With the team’s tight end depth already slim, the Packers will need their star player back for a full season in 2026.
