Tucker Kraft is back on the practice field. That is one of the best pieces of news the Green Bay Packers have gotten all summer.
The Packers announced Friday that they have activated Kraft from the Physically Unable to Perform list. The star tight end has spent months rehabbing a torn ACL that ended his 2025 season, and he is now cleared to participate in training camp. Head coach Matt LaFleur will handle him carefully, but the fact that he is off PUP and back with teammates is a real turning point.
Kraft told reporters that his doctor was impressed with his recovery, saying his knee looks spectacular and comparing his rehab progress to nothing else he had seen. Whether or not that was a bit of doctor-to-patient encouragement, the results are hard to argue with. Kraft looks like himself in individual drills. He is running. He is catching. He is doing the things a tight end has to do.
The Packers expected Kraft to miss the first few weeks of the regular season. That is now looking less likely. Most expectations have him playing in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, which would be a massive win for Green Bay. Losing Kraft for any stretch of the season would hurt an offense that leans heavily on the tight end position.
The original injury was brutal. Kraft went down in a Week 11 loss to the Carolina Panthers last November. It was diagnosed as a torn right ACL. Before the injury, he had already put up 30 catches for 469 yards and six touchdowns in eight games. He was on pace for a career year and was becoming one of Jordan Love’s most trusted targets.
Without him, the Packers offense sputtered down the stretch. They still made the playoffs, but they lacked the middle-of-the-field presence that Kraft provides. Rookies and role players tried to fill the gap. None of them replicated what Kraft brings.
Now he is coming back at a critical time. Green Bay’s offense needs to take another step under LaFleur. Jordan Love is entering the second full season of his massive contract. The team has invested in weapons around him, from wide receivers to running backs. Kraft is the ultimate weapon, though, because he creates matchup problems that force defenses to adjust.
The Packers are taking things slowly, which is smart. Nobody wants Kraft rushing back and re-injuring himself. He will get his reps individually first, then move into limited team work, then eventually full contact. The timeline is flexible, but the goal is clearly to have him ready for the opener.
For Green Bay, this is one of a handful of positive stories from training camp. The defense is still finding itself. The receiving corps has some new faces. The offensive line is dealing with some minor injuries. Getting Kraft back stabilizes things and gives Love his safety blanket.
Fans in Green Bay have been waiting for this news since November. Now it is here. Kraft is back. The Packers offense has its most important weapon healthy again. And a season that has felt uncertain now has a real reason for optimism.
Week 1 against the Vikings just became one of the most anticipated matchups of the early season. If Kraft plays, Green Bay has a serious chance to win the NFC North again.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
