It’s time for Packers to give Tucker Kraft this $72 million contract after injury return

The Green Bay Packers need to get over the hump in the playoffs in 2026. Green Bay went all in by acquiring Micah Parsons last year, and so far that deal has not led to postseason success. The Packers may need the offense to shoulder more of a load early in the season while Parsons gets healthy. Fortunately, one returning Packers player could supercharge the offense.

Packers tight end Tucker Kraft has looked excellent in training camp after coming back from last season’s ACL injury.

Kraft has put up some incredible stats over the past two seasons despite his injury. He logged 50 receptions for 707 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2024. Kraft followed that with 32 receptions for 489 receiving yards and six touchdowns in just eight games in 2025. When extrapolating that out to a full season, Kraft was on pace for 68 receptions, 1,039 receiving yards, and 13 touchdowns.

Unsurprisingly, the prolific tight end wants a new contract in Green Bay. Unfortunately, his ACL injury certainly complicated matters.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Tuesday that Kraft getting back to team drills was not a prerequisite for getting a contract done, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. Gutekunst did not give any further updates on Kraft’s contract status.

It is certainly a good development that Kraft is back on the practice field. But sooner or later, the Packers are going to have to bite the bullet and pay the man.

Green Bay cannot afford to waste any more time without extending Kraft on a long-term deal.

Why the Packers need to give Tucker Kraft a $72 million contract ASAP

To start, Kraft has more than earned a large contract extension. But if that doesn’t convince Green Bay, then they need to look at what his contract could cost in the future.

If the Packers wait too long before extending Kraft, the tight end market could get extremely expensive.

“It’s gonna be interesting to see how far the tight end market jumps. We saw a pretty big jump from the running back market, where they’re getting $22-$23 million. The tight end market hasn’t had that jump. It’s not really a question of does Tucker Kraft get a new contract; it’s just how high does it go. You have a guy next year that plays for the Raiders named Brock Bowers who’s probably going to take it to the stratosphere a little bit more,” NFL Network’s Rapoport said on Monday.

The best way for the Packers to avoid this issue is to simply pay Kraft now. But how much would that cost?

According to Spotrac, Kraft has a market value of $17.7 million per season. If the Packers signed him to a long-term deal, say a four-year contract worth $72 million, he could net $18 million per season. That would make Kraft one of the league’s highest-paid tight ends.

It would put him below George Kittle, who now makes $19.1 million per season, and Trey McBride at $19 million per season. Kraft would also be just ahead of Falcons superstar Kyle Pitts at $17.67 million per season.

Ultimately, any extension will be difficult for Green Bay to pull off. Remember, they are projected to have just practically no cap space already in the 2027 season. So adding a big-money extension will not help matters.

But if the Packers drag their feet, they’ll just end up paying more money in the future anyways.

Perhaps Green Bay wants to see Kraft play at a high level in their offense again before paying him. That is a pricey gamble for the Packers ahead of a crucial 2026 season.

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