The Green Bay Packers had their 2025 season take a turn for the worse in Sunday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, as they saw standout tight end Tucker Kraft carted off the field with a knee injury.
Kraft went down with the injury during the third quarter as his knee buckled, which is never a good sign. Following the loss, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the fear was that Kraft suffered a torn ACL.
Those fears were ultimately confirmed on Monday morning as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Kraft suffered a season-ending injury. This is terrible news for Kraft, who was playing like a top-3 tight end in the league and was the top option in the Packers’ passing game.
Before the news officially confirmed the tear, the 25-year-old pass catcher posted a somber image on Instagram of himself kneeling on the field with an hourglass emoji, per Ellie French of FOX 11.
Tucker Kraft’s Instagram Post Signals Comeback Is Already on His Mind
As you can imagine, when Green Bay fans saw this post from Kraft on Monday morning, they hoped it was a sign of potential good news and that he might not be done for the entire year.
However, as we found out, it was the complete opposite. The third-year tight end has now started the clock towards his comeback for the 2026 season.
And, best believe, Kraft wants to get back on the field as soon as possible for his teammates, the fan base, and, most importantly, himself. Before he went down with the season-ending knee injury, Kraft had two receptions (three targets) for 20 yards against Carolina.
Kraft will now end the season with 32 receptions (44 targets) for 489 yards and six touchdowns after being projected to finish with 68 receptions (94 targets) for 1,039 yards and 13 TDs.
With Kraft going down, the Packers will now focus their attention on Luke Musgrave, who steps up into the TE1 role. At the same time, Green Bay hopes Kraft can return to his 2025 form next season whenever he makes his debut.
Anytime you see a player go down with a torn ACL or Achilles tendon, you automatically wonder if they will be the same kind of player in that first year back. Luckily for the Packers, there’s hope for Kraft next season.
When Minnesota Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson tore his ACL and MCL in the latter stages of the 2023 season, he returned in November of the 2024 season. Despite missing close to half of the season, Hockenson still racked up 41 receptions (62 targets) for 455 yards in 10 games.
Then, in the Vikings’ playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams, Hockenson had five receptions (five targets) for 64 yards and a touchdown. Hockenson hasn't put up huge stats this season, but he's still a solid pass-catching option and doesn't look like he's lost a step.
Obviously, the way Hockenson returned for Minnesota won't be a carbon copy for Kraft and the Packers, as no two players recover the same way. Kraft might not put up big numbers to start next season, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him still have those big passing plays and be a weapon inside the red zone as he gets more comfortable post-surgery.