The Green Bay Packers have been here before, staring down the barrel of an expensive contract extension for a high-performing player in Tucker Kraft who is coming off a major injury.
The preponderance of reporting around the tight end’s negotiations with the team this offseason indicate that both sides want to get a deal done and are targeting an agreement ahead of the regular season, which begins in less than three weeks. However, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke about those talks on Wednesday, August 26 and indicated that the franchise, while still interested, is in no hurry.
“We would love to have that done. These things are complicated at times,” Gutekunst said, per Ryan Wood of USA Today. “Whether we accomplish that before the beginning of the season, we’ll see. We’re excited for what he’s going to do for us both this year and in the future.”
Packers’ History Suggests Team Will Wait to See Tucker Kraft Play Before Inking Extension
GettyFormer Green Bay Packers edge-rusher Rashan Gary.
Kraft was tracking toward a Pro Bowl nod in 2025 before tearing his ACL mid-season.
“There wasn’t another guy in the league that was doing it as well as I was,” Kraft said in June. “Outside zone, inside zone, screen game, down the field — as far as putting it all together, I felt like I was at a great spot.”
Furthermore, the third-round pick in 2023 has looked solid during his rehabilitation and will be a part of the team’s joint work with the Arizona Cardinals during practice Wednesday.
But it is reasonable to expect, based on recent history, that Gutekunst and LaFleur will want to see Kraft in full pads and full action multiple times before breaking the bank on a new deal.
Former Packers edge-rusher Rashan Gary was playing at an elite level before tearing his ACL during November 2022. He was up for a big extension the following season, though the team didn’t grant it to him before Gary proved he was all the way recovered and still himself.
In late October 2023, Green Bay inked Gary to a four-year deal worth $96 million. The team ended up trading him to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason for a mid-round pick after his play moderately declined, but that dip in production was not directly related to the knee injury.
Tucker Kraft’s Market Value Would Make Him 3rd-Highest Paid Tight End in NFL
GettyGreen Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft.
Kraft will turn 26 later this year, and Spotrac projects his market value at $71 million over a new four-year agreement.
That exact contract would make Kraft the third-highest paid tight end in the NFL both in terms of overall contract value and annual average salary, behind only Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals and George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers.
It is unclear what numbers either side currently has in mind, though it is reasonable to expect that Kraft is pushing to reset the market given how well he was playing before his injury (32 catches for 489 yards and six TDs in eight games) and how strongly he appears to be bouncing back from it.
Understandably, Green Bay is probably looking at a considerably lower figure at the moment given Kraft has yet to take even a preseason snap since tearing his ACL.
Kraft will become an unrestricted free agent in March 2027 if no deal is struck before then. But as it appears now, the likelihood is Kraft will play a handful of games in 2026 and then ink a sizable extension if he stays healthy and performs at a similar level to last season.
Packers GM Sends Clear Message on Tucker Kraft’s ‘Complicated’ Future in Green Bay