Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur offered a long-awaited update during OTAs, saying Tucker Kraft “looks great right now” but that the Packers are still early in his return process. Kraft’s ACL recovery typically takes nine to ten months, putting a mid-August readin
For seven months, Packers fans have been living with the same brutal image: Tucker Kraft carted off Lambeau Field with a torn ACL, an injury that abruptly ended what had been shaping into a career year.
Through the first eight games of the season. Kraft had emerged as a clear offensive centerpiece. totaling 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns. He was on pace for a breakout finish—more than 1. 000 yards receiving and more than a dozen touchdowns—and he had already turned in a kind of production that didn’t show up often from the tight end position.
Before the injury sidelined him. Kraft had become just the third tight end in NFL history to record at least 30 receptions. 450 receiving yards. and six touchdowns while averaging 15.5-plus yards per reception through the first seven games of a season. The company he joined included Jimmy Graham (2013) and Rob Gronkowski (2015). Then came the end of the run—and the start of the wait for 2026.
On Wednesday, during OTAs in Green Bay, that wait got a little less heavy. Coach Matt LaFleur delivered the kind of message fans had been hoping to hear. “Tuck looks great right now. You want him out there,” LaFleur said. “He looks so good. you’d want to put him out there. but certainly we’re still early in that process. Hopefully, he’ll be ready to go either by training camp or early in training camp.”.
That “early in that process” part matters. A standard ACL surgery recovery in the NFL typically runs nine to ten months. Based on comparable timelines, Kraft should be game-ready by mid-August.
Training camp is scheduled to start in late July. which gives Kraft additional time to build back toward full speed—especially with reps that can’t be replicated at home or in a limited setting. Getting those training camp reps. even if they’re scaled at first. is described as massive for Kraft’s confidence as he heads into the season.
The Packers’ receiving room has changed in the meantime. Romeo Doubs, the team’s leading pass catcher last season, is now in New England. Dontayvion Wicks is in Philadelphia. That leaves Kraft alongside Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden as Jordan Love’s top receivers in 2026.
Kraft, though, is different in the way he fits this offense. LaFleur has previously called him “a big focal point of our offense,” and the fact that he’s being described as looking great right now only heightens the sense that Green Bay could still be turning toward a familiar target on the field.
If Kraft is ready to roll by Week 1, the Packers are still very much in the contender conversation—one that fans have been waiting to re-enter since that cart rolled off Lambeau Field seven months ago.
In a season defined by momentum and timing, LaFleur’s update doesn’t promise a full return tomorrow. But it does land with real weight: the injury that ended a possible historic run may not have ended the chapter entirely—just delayed it.
Green Bay Packers Matt LaFleur Tucker Kraft OTAs ACL recovery Lambeau Field Jordan Love training camp Christian Watson Jayden Reed Matthew Golden