If the Green Bay Packers have both Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft available on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, the tight end duo will open up the playbook for Matt LaFleur and add even more versatility to the offense, further stressing the opposing defense.
We still don’t know for sure whether Musgrave will be available this week. He is still on injured reserve but has practiced in a limited fashion the last two weeks. LaFleur did provide some hope on Thursday by saying it was “realistic” for him to be available. Musgrave also mentioned that he “feels good” and is “heading in the right direction.”
Musgrave said “it would be awesome” to be on the field against the Bears.
“I want to play as soon as I can. We’ll see. We’re going to take it day-by-day and see what holds.”
Prior to Musgrave’s kidney injury, he was on pace to be one of the most productive rookie tight ends in team history. Through Week 11, Musgrave had 33 receptions for 341 yards and a touchdown. His big play ability was also starting to show up more consistently as well.
In Musgrave’s absence, the Packers have seen the emergence of Tucker Kraft, who has seen growth from a development standpoint at an exponential rate once given this opportunity. In the last six games, Kraft has caught 23-of-28 targets for 281 yards and two scores.
During that span, Kraft ranks sixth among all tight ends in yards after the catch, according to PFF, and has proven to be an improved and capable run blocker.
“Once he started figuring it out,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich of Kraft’s development, “you could see this guy’s got a lot of talent. A credit to him, I don’t know if there’s a guy that works harder behind the scenes with how he prepares. He’s in the film room. He’s asking coach (John) Dunn questions all the time. He’s one of those kids that it’s super important to and he prepares really, really hard. You’re seeing it now, all the success he’s having is coming to fruition.”
If the Packers are fortunate enough to have Kraft and Musgrave together in a must-win game against the Bears, it’s not as if it will be the first time all season this has happened. Before Musgrave was placed on IR, Kraft’s role was already starting to expand. However, the Packers are yet to have this current more refined version of Kraft to be able to pair with Musgrave.
From a play-calling standpoint for Matt LaFleur, when you have two tight ends who can affect…
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