GREEN BAY — Tucker Kraft’s road to recovery is underway. 

The Timber Lake High School graduate and Green Bay Packer tight end sustained a season-ending knee injury on Nov. 2, derailing a promising season for the third-year player. Kraft, a former South Dakota State University All-American tight end, totaled 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns in eight games before the injury. 

“I felt like I was on the cusp of putting together one of the greatest seasons by a Packer tight end,” Kraft told Green Bay media members on Jan. 12, his first media availability since the injury. “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.” 

Kraft revealed that along with a torn ACL, he had a slight meniscus tear that his surgeon shaved off, and some LCL damage that didn’t require repair. The torn ACL was repaired with a graft from his patellar tendon. 

It’s been just over two months since the knee injury, and Kraft aims to return to form for Green Bay next season. 

“My injury is my reality and all I can do is work and come back to be a better Packer than I was before,” Kraft said. “It will make a better person, a better athlete, a better teammate. It just has to.”

Kraft said he’s not in a race, and will be cautious with his recovery. He anticipates he’ll start training camp in late July on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but is targeting a Week 1 return in September. 

“By the time Week 1 rolls around, I’ll be 10 months post-surgery and hopefully bulletproofed by then,” Kraft said. “I already feel pretty good. My progress so far has been great. Some would say even ahead of schedule.”

A third-round pick by the Packers in the 2023 NFL Draft, Kraft was in the midst of his best season. He produced six catches for 124 yards and one touchdown in Green Bay’s win over Washington on Sept. 11. Kraft hauled in seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Pittsburgh on Oct. 26. 

“I was able to prove time and time again what I could do with three catches, four catches, five catches,” Kraft said. “In that Pittsburgh game, I had 140-something yards, with like 90% of that coming from the yards after the catch. 

He sustained the injury the next week against Carolina. But Kraft, who has dealt with injuries in college and the NFL, is confident he will overcome the latest setback. 

“I think from my past experiences with adversity — the way I have responded and have overcome — it’s just led me to believe this won’t and it hasn’t had an impact on who I am as a person,” Kraft said. “How I am as a husband, a teammate, and a father. Just remaining positive and controlling the controllables.”