GREEN BAY – Tucker Kraft is aiming to have no limitations when the regular season begins.
That's the target the Packers star tight end verbalized when he spoke with the media Wednesday, just a few days before he hits the seven-month mark following ACL surgery.
While Kraft still expects to begin training camp next month on the physically unable to perform list (PUP), he made it sound as though he won't be on it long, giving him plenty of time to get the practice work required to play his usual full allotment of snaps in the season opener at Minnesota on Sept. 13.
"With how I feel, I would say I'm going to get all the conditioning I need in camp to start Week 1 on no pitch count," Kraft said.
The confidence with which he uttered that was rather matter-of-fact, a reflection of how well his rehab is going. A week and a half ago, he hit 21½ miles per hour running on a treadmill, and he posted the video clip on social media with a nod to Ivan Drago, the Russian superhuman from Rocky IV.
"I feel great," he said. "My quad looks great. Swelling is minimal to none. No like weird pains and aches coming out of my treatment and my trainings, so we're really excited to get this ball rolling and we're gonna take off."
He also feels he's well past the most difficult part of this entire process, which was watching the second half of last year following his injury, unable to help turn around the Packers' late-season slide.
On a team looking to get its best players healthy again with high expectations for 2026, he stressed it's on every individual to hold up his end, and he's willing to take on as much as anyone wants to put on his shoulders, long layoff be damned.
"The hardest part for me is I've always been a leader with the way I do things physically, not necessarily with how I talk and present myself to the team in other settings," Kraft said. "So losing that ability to show the boys, this is how we do it, this is the physical standard, this is the precedent, I'd say that was the hardest part for me, just not being in the game.
"But we're past that now, and blink and camp will be here soon."
A contract extension could be around the corner as well. Kraft made no secret of his desire for one as the 2023 third-round draft pick from South Dakota State enters the final year of his rookie deal. While not confirming discussions between the Packers and his agent have taken place, a lighthearted no comment in the form of "next question" said plenty.
He's seen offensive mates Jayden Reed and Christian Watson get new deals recently, and all signs are he's next.
"I'd say my goal is I want to play for this organization my entire career," he said. "I'm spoiled to have been drafted here and this is all I know. Green and gold is all I know, so we'd like to keep it that way."
When Kraft injured his knee in early November vs. Carolina, he was on pace for the best statistical season in franchise history for a tight end, with 32 catches for 486 yards and six TDs through eight games.
Not only is resuming that level of production a fundamental expectation in his mind, he also mentioned continuing his quest to be the best all-around tight end in the league. He admitted some may call him "delusional" for thinking that way with only 2½ NFL seasons under his belt, but it's the way he's wired and the injury didn't change that.
"I said this before – I don't think something like this had to happen to me to get better," he said. "I think I had the right mindset prior to my injury, but now I know what it's about and I know how much I love this game and all the support system I've had to get past it.
"I want to just continue to be the same teammate, the leader that I was prior to my injury. I'm not going to let this be a setback for me – just a bump in the road."
