Brian Gutekunst: Tucker Kraft may play Week 1, hopeful contract gets done

Published July 29, 2026 10:57 AM Packers tight end Tucker Kraft may have a couple of positive developments coming to him in his near future.General Manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters on Wednesday that Kraft, who is returning from a torn ACL, playing Week 1 is “very much a possibility.” And Gutekunst noted that he’s hopeful the team and Kraft can reach an agreement on a new contract before the season.On the injury, Kraft is currently on the active/physically unable to perform list after suffering his torn ACL in early November. But the tight end has been making significant progress in his rehab.“In fact, I anticipate him being out there sooner rather than later,” Gutekunst said in his press conference. “The more work he can get with Jordan [Love] in particular — even when he’s not ready for the team [drills] part of it — the more individual work he can get done with Jordan is important for him as he gets into the season. So, we’ve had a lot of discussions about that and the timing of that.“Obviously, we want to be protective. He’s coming off a major injury and he’s still at about that eight-and-a-half-month mark. But by the way he looks, you’d think he’s ready to go. When you see him out there, it’s a little bit like Christian [Watson], they look really, really good early. But there’s a lot of science behind the nine-month mark. So, we’ll be very cautious as we head into it.” As for Kraft’s contract, Gutekunst confirmed there have been discussions on an extension. The tight end — a third-round pick in 2023 — is headed into the last year of his rookie deal.“Certainly, I think for both us and him, it’s in the best interest to try to get something done,” Gutekunst said. “But these things take time. We’ve gone through a bunch of extensions this summer, kind of knowing this was going to be the one right about now.“We have a little bit of time because he’s just not there yet. But I would expect, hopefully, that would get done. But you never know how they’re going to go.”Kraft was in the midst of a breakout season when he suffered his injury last year, having caught 32 passes for 489 yards with six touchdowns in eight games. He had 50 receptions for 707 yards with seven TDs through 17 games in 2024.