With star tight end Tucker Kraft sidelined for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, some fans thought that the Green Bay Packers would acquire a tight end by Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET trade deadline to bolster their depth.
Instead, Green Bay stood pat at the trade deadline, signifying that they will put their trust in Luke Musgrave to be the TE1 and hope that John Fitzpatrick and Josh Whyle, the latter of whom was just promoted from the practice squad, will step up in place of Kraft.
To take Whyle’s place on the practice squad, the Packers signed McCallan Castles on Tuesday after bringing him in for a workout on Monday. Castles has yet to play in an NFL regular-season game, despite spending time with the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Chargers (practice squad last year) in 2024.
While Castles is an adequate practice squad option for depth purposes, the Packers should also consider bringing in former Detroit Lions TE Kenny Yeboah.
Ex-Lions TE Kenny Yeboah Should Be on Packers’ Radar Following Tucker Kraft Injury
On Tuesday afternoon, the Lions announced that they released Yeboah with an injury settlement. The fourth-year pass catcher did not see any snaps with the Lions as they placed him on injured reserve during the preseason in August. That said, Yeboah getting cut with an injury settlement could telegraph that he’s healthy and wants to find a better opportunity.
The Packers represent that better opportunity, given their suspect depth behind Musgrave and Fitzpatrick. Over his four-year NFL career, the 27-year-old Yeboah has only nine receptions (15 targets) for 111 yards and a touchdown, which were from his time with the New York Jets.
Those stats won’t wow Packers fans, but looking at what Yeboah did in college at Temple and Ole Miss, it’s clear that he has some playmaking abilities. In his four-year run at Temple, Yeboah had 47 receptions for 538 yards and six touchdowns. He almost matched that production in one year at Ole Miss, posting 27 receptions for 524 yards and six touchdowns, while averaging 19.4 yards per reception.
In addition to his pass-catching skills, the 27-year-old Yeboah has shown the ability to contribute on special teams (610 career snaps) and be utilized as an inline blocker (48.4 run block Pro Football Focus grade with the Jets in 2024). That's the type of versatility that head coach Matt LaFleur would love to inject into his lineup.
At this point in the regular season, the Packers won’t find a 1-for-1 replacement for Kraft, who was playing at a top-five level before disaster struck. However, Green Bay’s front office can do much worse than adding a tight end like Yeboah, who has untapped potential waiting to be unleashed.