GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — While Micah Parsons won’t be doing any football activities until at least September 29, another Packers star coming off an ACL tear could be back much sooner.
Packers tight end Tucker Kraft said he expects to be ready to go by Week 1 against the Vikings in Minnesota with - no pitch count.
“We're really excited to get this ball rolling and we're going to take off,” Kraft, who tore his ACL in the Packers Week 9 loss to the Panthers on November 2, said Wednesday following Green Bay's minicamp practice.
Kraft did note he expects to start training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list but said that seven months from his injury, he feels great — recently hitting 21.5 miles an hour while running.
“I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm tracking my rehab based off of speed alone, but managing to hit that number where I am in my rehab right now is just a testament to the work that the staff and I have put in,” Kraft said.
In eight games last year, Kraft had nearly 500 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 10.8 yards after contact per reception, which was the highest among all tight ends and wide receivers.
“I went out as tight end one in my opinion, just with the things that I do, the point of attack, where I'm at on any given play, I feel like I went out at the top,” Kraft said. "Some people might think I'm delusional to say that, but every play I was either — I don't know, just like the film, the film's gonna speak for itself, outside zone, inside zone, screen game, down the field, you know, just as far as putting it all together, I felt like I was in a great spot.
While Kraft already thinks his caliber of play makes him one of the best tight ends in the league, he hopes to come back even stronger and said he won’t use his injury as an excuse.
“I’m not really buying into the like people come back off an injury and they're not the same," he said. "People come back after an injury. If you're not coming back off your injury the same, then what are you doing? Like what were you doing during your entire rehab?”
While the team has recently extended wide receivers Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, Kraft, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal, did not confirm or deny if his camp has had contract extension talks with the Packers yet, but he did say he wants to spend his entire career with the green and gold.
