Before Kraft was injured, he was clearly Green Bay’s top tight end, and with former second-round pick Luke Musgrave having been cast aside, there was speculation that the Packers could actually move Musgrave … and they very nearly did.
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Justis Mosqueda of Acme Packing Company has revealed that prior to Kraft going down, Green Bay almost moved Musgrave for a Day 3 pick.
“We would’ve traded Luke Musgrave to either the Denver Broncos or the Jacksonville Jaguars for like a fifth-round pick,” Mosqueda said on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. “For a while it looked like it was going to happen, apparently, and then, obviously, the situation changes when you’re down two tights ends within a week.”
Not only did Kraft get hurt, but the Packers also watched as the Minnesota Vikings claimed fellow tight end Ben Sims on waivers, leaving Green Bay dangerously thin at the position.
Now, Musgrave will step into the starting role, which is where the Packers initially thought he would be when they drafted him one round ahead of Kraft back in 2023.
The 25-year-old caught 34 passes for 352 yards and a touchdown in 11 games during his rookie campaign, but injuries ultimately derailed his first couple of NFL seasons.
That allowed Kraft to step into a much more prominent role in Green Bay, hauling in 50 receptions for 707 yards and seven scores in 2024, good for a robust average of 14.1 yards per catch.
Kraft was on pace to have an even stronger year in 2025, having already logged 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns in eight games before tearing his ACL.
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Meanwhile, Musgrave has totaled just nine grabs for 88 yards on the campaign. He managed three catches for 34 yards last week, so perhaps he is already ramping himself up for his upcoming uptick in targets.
The Packers are 5-2-1 and will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
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