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The Green Bay Packers know they have a rising star at tight end in Tucker Kraft. However, coming off a season-ending injury and entering the final year of his rookie contract, the timing for negotiating a new deal with Kraft isn’t ideal. There’s definitely some risk involved, but given not only what he brings to the offense but to the locker room, it’s probably smart to start discussing Kraft’s next contract.
According to Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, those talks have already begun.
“Obviously, he’s a really important part of this football team, and we would certainly like to have him around, but that’ll be something we work through with his people, and we’ll kind of see what’s best for us, best for them,” Gutekunst said Wednesday. “Certainly, the impact that he has on our football team, not only as a player but as a leader, is very important to us. We’ve already been in contact with him, just letting him know how we feel, and we’ll kind of see where it goes.”
Before tearing his ACL in Week 9, Kraft was having the best season by a tight end in Packers history.
Despite playing in just eight games, Kraft still managed to catch 44 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns, and thanks to his effort as a blocker, had put his name in the conversation of the best all-around tight ends in the NFL in just his third season.
"I was on the cusp of putting together one of the greatest seasons by a Packer tight end," Kraft said after the season. "That was something I was looking forward to, was just leaving my legacy on this game and playing as hard as I could every snap for this team, because the end of the day, the guys in this room, they mean so much to me.”
It’s not hard to quantify what Kraft means to the Packers. In games that Kraft started this season, the Packers were 5-2-1 and averaged 360.4 yards of offense per game. Without him, their record was 4-5-1, and the offense averaged 307.9 yards per game.
Now, Green Bay is in a position where it must put a number on how valuable Kraft is to the team.
George Kittle, Trey McBride, Travis Kelce, TJ Hockenson, and David Njoku are the top five earners at tight end with yearly averages ranging from $19.1-$13.7 million. Kraft’s agent will likely argue that Kraft is a top-five tight end.
The longer the Packers wait, the higher Kraft’s price could go up. Conversely, if they pay him now and he’s not the same player after suffering a significant injury, the team will have to bite the bullet on a bad contract. Given Green Bay’s cap situation and the aspirations for maximizing their current Super Bowl window, this isn’t a decision they can afford to get wrong.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers in contact with TE Tucker Kraft about contract extension
Continue reading...
According to Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, those talks have already begun.
“Obviously, he’s a really important part of this football team, and we would certainly like to have him around, but that’ll be something we work through with his people, and we’ll kind of see what’s best for us, best for them,” Gutekunst said Wednesday. “Certainly, the impact that he has on our football team, not only as a player but as a leader, is very important to us. We’ve already been in contact with him, just letting him know how we feel, and we’ll kind of see where it goes.”
Before tearing his ACL in Week 9, Kraft was having the best season by a tight end in Packers history.
Despite playing in just eight games, Kraft still managed to catch 44 passes for 489 yards and six touchdowns, and thanks to his effort as a blocker, had put his name in the conversation of the best all-around tight ends in the NFL in just his third season.
"I was on the cusp of putting together one of the greatest seasons by a Packer tight end," Kraft said after the season. "That was something I was looking forward to, was just leaving my legacy on this game and playing as hard as I could every snap for this team, because the end of the day, the guys in this room, they mean so much to me.”
It’s not hard to quantify what Kraft means to the Packers. In games that Kraft started this season, the Packers were 5-2-1 and averaged 360.4 yards of offense per game. Without him, their record was 4-5-1, and the offense averaged 307.9 yards per game.
Now, Green Bay is in a position where it must put a number on how valuable Kraft is to the team.
George Kittle, Trey McBride, Travis Kelce, TJ Hockenson, and David Njoku are the top five earners at tight end with yearly averages ranging from $19.1-$13.7 million. Kraft’s agent will likely argue that Kraft is a top-five tight end.
The longer the Packers wait, the higher Kraft’s price could go up. Conversely, if they pay him now and he’s not the same player after suffering a significant injury, the team will have to bite the bullet on a bad contract. Given Green Bay’s cap situation and the aspirations for maximizing their current Super Bowl window, this isn’t a decision they can afford to get wrong.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers in contact with TE Tucker Kraft about contract extension
Continue reading...
