TE Tucker Kraft will have to continue his iron man streak until Musgrave’s ankle recovers
On Monday, following the team’s loss to the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed that tight end Luke Musgrave recently underwent surgery to the ankle that landed him on the injured reserve. Musgrave previously tried to play through the injury before the staff realized how serious the injury was and chose to shut him down for an extended period of time.
Because of the timing of the injury, there was hope that Musgrave would be able to return in Week 11 against the Chicago Bears, the first game that he would be eligible to play in based on the NFL’s injured reserve rules. One media member in LaFleur’s press conference on Monday mentioned that Musgrave was seen on a scooter, though, so don’t hold your breath that the tight end will return to play versus the Bears.
So how does this change the Packers’ plans? Last year, Green Bay was third in the league in multiple tight end sets. The assumption coming into this season was that the Packers would lean into their two-tight end identity even more this year, but Musgrave’s injury and slot receiver Jayden Reed’s breakout has sidelined those goals.
In the first four weeks of the season, when Musgrave was on the field, the non-Tucker Kraft tight ends played 12.5 percent of the total snaps that the receivers and tight ends were on the field for. Following Musgrave’s injury, that number has dropped to just 7.8 percent, a drop of about two-fifths.
Meanwhile, Kraft has been on the field for almost every snap that the offense has played. Currently, Kraft has played 516 total snaps on offense and has only been on the bench for 85 snaps in the 2024 season.
So how does this impact Green Bay? Kraft is going to continue to play almost every play — Lord willing that he stays healthy — and we’ll see the team continue to live in three-receiver sets as long as Musgrave is sidelined.
The number two tight end behind Kraft right now is 2023 undrafted free agent Ben Sims, who the Packers picked up off of waivers two summers ago after being unable to sign him as a free agent. He’s played an average of 20 offensive snaps per game since Musgrave was pulled out of the rotation.
Behind Sims, though, there are major question marks. Andrew Beck, the fullback/tight end hybrid, played 15 snaps for the Packers over three games but exhausted his practice squad call-ups and was eventually released by the team. The third tight end right now is John FitzPatrick, who was plucked off of the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad when Musgrave was placed on the injured reserve, and he’s played a total of seven snaps for the Packers this year.
