GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft is off the physically unable to perform list and excited to be back practicing - even without a contract extension that would give him financial security in the event of another injury.
“Absolutely not,” Kraft said when asked Friday if he had any reservations about going full-go in practice without a new deal. “I understand other peoples’ worries in that facet. However, I myself, I’m just worried about getting back to who I was preinjury.”
Kraft caught 32 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns in eight games last season before he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on Nov. 2 during a 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Kraft caught seven passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-25 victory at Pittsburgh the week before his injury.
He is in the final year of a four-year, $5.54 million rookie contract he signed as a 2023 third-round draft pick. He is set to make $3.62 million in base salary this season but is in line for a deal that could make him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end, surpassing San Francisco’s George Kittle at $19.1 million per year.
Kraft said he is “as involved as I can possibly be” in extension talks. He said his agent, Jack Bechta, speaks with Packers chief contract negotiator Russ Ball and general manager Brian Gutekunst, then reports back to him on those negotiations.
“Every number, data point, argument, I’m going to be my own advocate as much as I can because I know what my abilities are and what I bring to the table,” Kraft said. “(But) I don’t take anything personal. I play football and front office plays numbers. That’s the way I see it. I’ve been reassured of that so many times that I feel like I can’t take anything personal.”
Kraft took part in only individual drills during Friday’s practice, just as coach Matt LaFleur had said he would. He worked with his fellow tight ends in the north end zone of Ray Nitschke Field but was a spectator for the 11-on-11 team periods.
“We’re just going to kind of get him back ingrained into the process and into individual,” LaFleur said before practice. “What’s great is when they do come off PUP, then now he can partake in some of the walk-through periods, especially that we do in the evenings - just to get him back hearing the (play) call, lining up and then just going through that.”
Kraft said he plans on being in pads along with the rest of his teammates for Monday’s first padded practice. Players have an NFL-mandated day off on Saturday before returning to practice in shells on Sunday.
Kraft said earlier this offseason that his goal was not only to play in the Sept. 13 regular-season opener at Minnesota but to do so without any playing-time restrictions. Friday was a step in that direction.
“I don’t want anyone to get their expectations too high. I’m not going to be doing anything too crazy here for a while,” Kraft said. “But as long as our GM and our training staff, the coaches, everyone’s on the same page, I’ll just get phased in period by period until you guys see me out there taking team reps. So that’s the goal. We’re on that ramp-up phase right now to get ready for Week 1.”
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