It’s official. Green Bay Packers tight end John FitzPatrick tore his Achilles tendon, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, which was the expectation from his injury on Saturday night. Since Tucker Kraft went down with an ACL tear, FitzPatrick and Luke Musgrave have shared the “starting” tight end role on the team, with FitzPatrick being more of a run-blocker and Musgrave being more of a pass-catcher.
Beyond being down both Kraft and FitzPatrick for the remainder of the season, the Minnesota Vikings claimed Ben
Sims, after playing three games for the Packers, and Josh Whyle is currently in the NFL’s concussion protocol. This leaves Green Bay with one healthy tight end left on their 53-man roster: Musgrave.
The Packers didn’t think enough of tight ends McCallan Castles and Drake Dabney to promote them from the practice squad last week, when Green Bay only had two players at the position on the 48-man gameday roster. Both were signed last month, after Kraft went down, Sims was poached and Whyle was promoted from the practice squad.
Earlier on Sunday, head coach Matt LaFleur told the media that he has spoken to general manager Brian Gutekunst and the two have devised “a plan” for addressing the position.
FitzPatrick is set to be a free agent after the season. He re-signed with the Packers on a one-year, $1.5 million deal after the team turned down a $3 million-plus restricted free agent tender for the tight end. FitzPatrick originally became a Packer in 2024, when the team poached him off the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad. FitzPatrick was a pre-draft visitor for Green Bay prior to him being selected in the sixth round of the 2022 draft.
