The Green Bay Packers have obviously been on an extension spree recently. The only major player left in a contract year going into 2026 is tight end Tucker Kraft, who we all should assume will sign a mega deal relatively soon. Shortly after defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt signed, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Packers want to get a deal done with Kraft before the regular season kicks off, so there should be no worries on the timing there. With that being said, how many players overall do you see the Packers giving extensions to moving forward? Right now, there are only five players on the team who are 1) going into contract years as unrestricted free agents and 2) didn’t already sign a one-year deal with the team this offseason. Those players are: TE Tucker Kraft CB Keisean Nixon TE Luke Musgrave DL Karl Brooks CB Carrington Valentine I think Kraft has a 100 percent approval rating among the Packers fan base, but do you think any of the other players get extensions in 2026? Voice your opinion in the comment section. Personally, I don’t think they do, unless Karl Brooks and/or Carrington Valentine end up winning starting jobs in training camp. Sign up for a user account and get: Fewer ads Create community posts Comment on articles, community posts Rec comments, community posts New, improved notifications system!
Matt LaFleur 's Packers seem to strive for good, but never great. They are not nearly aggressive enough and they too often take their foot all the way off the gas after seizing a lead. Even a soulless, agnostic NFL observer like me finds great pain in LaFleur's approach. I feel for the cheeseheads among us. Points per game: 23 (16th) Total yards per game: 333 (15th) Plays per game: 59.4 (25th) Dropbacks per game: 35 (29th) Dropback EPA per play: 0.27 (2nd) Designed rush attempts per game: 27.3 (8th) Rush EPA per play: -0.07 (21st) So, the question headed into 2026, LaFleur's eighth season at the helm, will be whether the Packers are ready to operate like the ultra-aggressive, win-now, win-always Lions and Bears, coached by men for whom no lead is enough. That LaFleur plays these two throat-stepping teams twice a season every season has been a problem. QB: Jordan Love , Tyrod Taylor WR: Christian Watson , Savion Williams WR: Jayden Reed , Bo Melton WR: Matthew Golden , Skyy Moore TE: Tucker Kraft , Luke Musgrave LaFleur seems to have taken his players’ grades to heart. Last year LaFleur, after losing to the despised Bears in the Wild Card round, was given one of the NFL’s lowest player grades. Romeo Doubs appeared all too happy to hit the road for New England during free agency, and Dontayvion Wicks wasn’t exactly heartbroken to escape Green Bay for the Eagles. LaFleur in late March acknowledged the organization-wide discontent and spoke to reporters about the issues plaguing his team. “If I’m being honest about it, I think there were some guys that were upset about roles last year, and I think that took a toll on our football team,” LaFleur said. “You need guys that bring great energy every day. I think from a coaching standpoint, role clarity is key, so we’ve got to obviously do a better job communicating with our players, ‘Hey, here’s your role and if you’re unhappy about your role, it’s on you to do something about that, to carve out a role on this football team.’ But yeah, the buy-in is absolutely critical. Getting guys in there that are juiced and ready to go to work each and every day is gonna be critical for us.” Later that same day, the immaculately-groomed Green Bay head coach dropped this little nugget, which — in one Rotoworld blogger’s opinion — has not received enough attention in real or fantasy football circles in the subsequent months. LaFleur, orchestrator of one of the league’s most reliably efficient offenses, said the Packers would “strip everything down and start like it’s Year 1 all over again” in 2026. “I just think reinstalling and trying to go through — it might take a little bit more time — but really get into the details because that’s usually the separator.” We could — if LaFleur was serious about starting again on offense — see a far more pass-heavy Packers offense this season. This would hinge on the team finally allowing Jordan Love to cook a year after he ranked second in EPA per drop back, trailing only Drake Maye . Not everyone is sold on the idea of a major overhaul of the Green Bay offense. That includes Jason Hirschhorn , writer and analyst for The Leap , an excellent Packers-focused newsletter. 'More Granular Focus' "When LaFleur mentions going back to the start, I suspect he means in terms of instruction and installation of the offense rather than a complete rethink of what the system looks like and how it works," Hirschhorn told me, adding that the team's passing offense has "lacked detail" in recent seasons. "Like most of the Kyle Shanahan -influenced schemes in the NFL, mastering the little nuances unlocks everything (marrying run and pass concepts so they present identically to the defense before the snap, syncing up timing between route depth and a QB's dropback, and so forth). These are the details that, at least in my reading of LaFleur's words, the Packers believe will need a more granular focus akin to a Year 1 install." A massively pass-heavy Packers offense, [... truncated ...]
Earlier this offseason, the Green Bay Packers picked up former Houston Texans tight end Luke Lachey on waivers when he became available. Upon reporting to Green Bay , though, the Packers failed Lachey’s physical , even though the Texans didn’t waive him with an injured designation. Now, Lachey’s injury issues seem to be in the past, as Green Bay has brought him back the week after the team’s mandatory minicamp. As the Packers’ roster was at its 91-man limit, Green Bay had to make a corresponding roster move to make room for the addition of Lachey. General manager Brian Gutekunst decided to waive receiver Jakobie Keeney-James. Keeney-James was getting work as a returner, a job that might just end up going to free agent signing Skyy Moore in 2025. Keeney-James got playing time in one regular-season game as a rookie, his two-reception, two-kick return effort in the Packers’ JV game against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18. A week later, in the playoffs, Keeney-James was displaced on the depth chart by fellow practice squad receiver Isaiah Neyor , who has drawn praise from head coach Matt LaFleur during spring practices. Lachey, a 2025 seventh-round pick, was picked out of Iowa by the Texans. He didn’t get into a regular season as a rookie, but was projected to be more of a Y-tight end than a pass-catcher. Considering Tucker Kraft ’s backups right now are more pass-catchers than in-line blockers ( Luke Musgrave and Josh Whyle ), it will be interesting to see if Lachey gains any momentum leading up to roster cutdowns later this summer
The Packers have already extended WRs Jayden Reed and Christian Watson. The article discusses which other players on expiring contracts, particularly starters like TE Tucker Kraft and DE Devonte Wyatt, might receive extensions before the 2027 offseason, while noting that CB Keisean Nixon may be unlikely to be extended due to age and position
We’re back at it to break down the Green Bay Packers’ tight ends going into the summer. If you missed it, we’ve already hit the quarterback and receiver positions . Tight end is an interesting position, as general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted that the team was hoping to land a true Y tight end in the draft, but the Day 2 run at the position left them pivoting to other players. Since the draft, the team has attempted to sign two tight ends whose physicals failed. Expect them to continue to churn the bottom of this position group through the cutdown deadline. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has said that TE1 Tucker Kraft is “ right on schedule ” with his ACL recovery. For reference, it took receiver Christian Watson 294 days to go from tearing his ACL to playing in another football game. For Kraft, 294 days from his torn ACL would be August 23rd , right after the second preseason game. Remember, Watson practiced for a few weeks before playing in that game, too, so assume we’re going to see Kraft in practice at some point in training camp. When he’s healthy, Kraft is one of the best all-around tight ends in football, producing both as a pass-catcher and making an impact as a run blocker. Without a doubt, he’ll be TE1 on the team when he returns to the field. The 2023 second-round pick’s career hasn’t gone as planned. Luke Musgrave was eventually passed on the depth chart full-time by Kraft in 2024 after Musgrave made a majority of the team’s starts as a rookie. Over the last two years, he’s caught just 31 balls, fewer than he posted in 2023 (34). The Packers actually tried to shop Musgrave around the trade deadline, per sources, but when Kraft went down and Ben Sims (now with the Dolphins) was claimed by the Minnesota Vikings ( Green Bay was trying to get Sims back on the practice squad), it left the team short at numbers at the position. Throughout his career, Musgrave has been used as a true Y tight end, despite not being great in the blocking game. Truthfully, he’s better off being split outside to allow more receivers to play in the slot — as he can create separation on in-breaking routes — but Green Bay has just never leaned into that aspect of his game. Going into the year, Musgrave will likely be the Y2 on the team and make starts if Kraft ever misses time. The Packers picked up Josh Whyle after the cutdown deadline in 2025, bringing him onto the practice squad before promoting him to the 53-man roster. By the end of the year, with Tucker Kraft out, Green Bay actually chose to play Whyle in obvious passing situations over Luke Musgrave, which is important to note moving forward. Whyle is more of a move tight end, a guy who can line up in the backfield or in the slot more frequently than a Musgrave. At this point, Whyle seems like a roster lock for 2026, considering the other competition at the position. For what it’s worth, the Packers have had their eyes on Whyle for a long time, as he was one of the team’s pre-draft visitors in 2023. He was ultimately selected in the fifth round by the Tennessee Titans that year. Hey, it’s a blast from the past. Messiah Swinson is now on his third stint with the Green Bay Packers, the team that originally signed him as a college free agent in 2024. At 6’7” and 259 pounds, Swinson has looked like a decent blocker and special teams player in preseasons, but he’s never made the 53-man unit. Swinson is now going into Year 3 of his NFL career, which has included stints with the Carolina Panthers , San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals. He was even once poached from the Packers’ practice squad (as a rookie) to the Panthers’ 53-man roster. Despite all of his stops and his ability to hang in the league, Swinson has never played regular-season action in the NFL. The Arizona State product was signed by the Packers’ practice squad in January, after he was released from the Cardinals in December, and signed a reserve/future contract with the team after the season ended. There’s a
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Tight end Luke Lachey, whom the Green Bay Packers picked up off waivers on Tuesday , had his physical failed by the team on Thursday and is now a free agent. Lachey, a Y tight end, was the type of tight end that the Packers’ room was missing. After the draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted that the team was looking for an inline tight end, but that value didn’t present itself. Lachey didn’t have a failed physical designation when he was waived by the Houston Texans, who drafted him in the seventh round of the 2025 draft. This is the second tight end for whom the Packers have failed a physical this offseason, after undrafted rookie Eni Falayi failed a physical upon reporting with the team. Currently, Green Bay ’s tight end room is comprised of Tucker Kraft , Luke Musgrave , Josh Whyle , Drake Dabney, Messiah Swinson and RJ Maryland . The Packers have an open roster spot moving forward. In other news, rookie second-round pick cornerback Brandon Cisse has signed his contract, meaning all of the team’s draft picks are now signed. Former Green Bay defensive tackle James Ester, who was waived yesterday to make room for the waiver claim of receiver Brenden Rice — Jerry Rice’s son — was claimed by the Miami Dolphins
