A June report indicated that the Green Bay Packers and star tight end Tucker Kraft would come to terms on a contract extension before the 2026 NFL season gets underway.
However, Kraft remains in the final year of his rookie contract as he works to fully recover from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 9 of the 2025 campaign. On Sunday, Kraft was cleared to perform in 11-on-11 team drills for the first time during summer practices. He then revealed that he would like to get an extension done before Green Bay opens the upcoming season with a matchup at the rival Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 13.
Tucker Kraft: Signing an extension before Week 1 is “the goal”
“That’s the goal,” Kraft said about inking a deal before Week 1, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “I think we’re a different team when I’m out on the field, and I think that’s obvious. I think everyone in this organization, every fan knows that, without sounding arrogant. I’ve kinda gone through life, just taking things blow by blow, assuming things will always just work out in the end. So me, the preparation, the sacrifices I’ve made to be here right now, I’m just going to continue to assume that it’s all going to work out for me.”
The numbers show Kraft is right regarding what he can offer the Packers offense when at his best. Specifically, the 25-year-old was well on his way to enjoying a career-best season when he suffered his injury last fall. Across fewer than eight completed games, he tallied 32 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns.
Back in June, it was learned that the Atlanta Falcons and tight end Kyle Pitts had agreed to a three-year, $54M deal with $36M guaranteed. Later, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Brenton Strange put pen to paper on a three-year contract extension that could be worth up to $48M with $25M guaranteed. Presumably, those deals could help the Packers and Kraft finalize the numbers associated with his expected extension.
Why Tucker Kraft made this business decision
Some players in Kraft’s situation will skip participating in 11-on-11 team drills as a way to protest not receiving a desired extension. However, he said he never considered making such a move.
“Well, that’s a whole part of this process, is me day in and day out, coming in and being consistent, stacking days without setbacks and accumulating these reps now in a team setting so that they can see my health and we can just keep taking the talks from there,” Kraft explained about that decision.
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