Tucker Kraft vows Packers loyalty

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft used the team’s run-up to Week 1 to draw a line around his contract talks: he says they will not keep him off the field. In remarks reported Tuesday, Sept. 1, Kraft said he plans to play regardless of whether Green Bay finishes a long-term extension before the regular season opener. He also said he wants his second NFL contract to come from the Packers. The comments came with the team less than two weeks from its Sept. 13 opener against the Minnesota Vikings. ### What exactly did Tucker Kraft say about a holdout? Tucker Kraft told reporters on Sept. 1 that, “I will be on the field to play for the Green Bay Packers, regardless of any contract situation, because I love this team, and you can't replicate this locker room anywhere else in the NFL.” He also said, “The plan for me is to stay in this organization,” while describing negotiations as a “game of back and forth.” (sports.yahoo.com) The remarks matched what Kraft had said a week earlier about wanting to finish a deal before Week 1 but continuing to work through the process. On Aug. 26, he said the sides were “on the same page” about trying to get something done before the opener. ### Where do the Packers say the negotiations stand? (sports.yahoo.com) Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Aug. 26 that the team wants an agreement but did not promise one before the season starts. “These things take time, and sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t,” Gutekunst said, adding that Kraft is “very important” to the organization. (packers.com) Gutekunst also praised Kraft’s approach during the talks. The general manager said Kraft “handles himself exactly how we want him to” and called him a competitor, while saying the Packers would “love” to have the extension completed. ### Why is Kraft in position to press for a new deal now? (atozsports.com) Kraft is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is due to earn $3.674 million in 2026 after triggering the proven performance escalator, according to reporting on the negotiations. He is 25 and listed by the Packers at 6-foot-5 and 259 pounds. (atozsports.com) Packers records and league production help explain his leverage. The team says Kraft posted 81 receptions and 1,062 receiving yards in his first two seasons, both the most by a Packers tight end over that span since 1970. Green Bay also says he ranks first among NFL tight ends since 2023 in yards after catch per reception, at 8.5, among players with at least 50 catches. (atozsports.com) ### Has his injury recovery changed the timing? Aug. 26 also marked a visible checkpoint in Kraft’s return from the torn ACL he suffered in November 2025. Packers.com reported that he was back in a physical joint practice against Arizona and said afterward that he no longer thinks about the knee. (packers.com) Kraft said that day he did not see himself on a rep count and wanted to be left on the field until coaches pulled him off. The team’s official site said he was unlikely to play in the preseason finale, but his focus had shifted to the regular-season opener. ### What is the next date that matters here? (packers.com) September 13 is the clearest next marker. Kraft said on Sept. 1 that his responsibility was to focus on the Vikings, and Packers.com said on Aug. 26 that Green Bay’s regular-season opener is against Minnesota on Sept. 13. If no extension is finished before then, Kraft has said he still expects to play. (sports.yahoo.com) (packers.com)