RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesGREEN BAY – Tucker Kraft is back.
No more PUP list. No more shorts and T-shirt on the sideline. And definitely no “hold-in” for the Green Bay Packers tight end.
Kraft, who tore the ACL in his right knee in November, returned to the field July 31, two days before the nine-month anniversary of the injury. He had one more checkup with UW Badger Lab, who oversaw his rehabilitation, and was told in the morning that the results showed he was ready to return to the football field.
“[The doctor] told me my knee looks spectacular,” Kraft said after the Packers removed him from the physically-unable-to-perform list .
In Kraft’s mind, he was ready a month ago, but the Packers follow a science that says a minimum of nine months must pass before returning from an ACL tear. So, he patiently went through another month of training to prepare for the season.
He felt way ahead of the process, but there were, as he called them, “guard rails” in place to protect him from overdoing it and possibly suffering a setback. And just as there were guard rails during rehab, there will be guard rails with his return to the football field.
He started out doing only limited individual drills, which means there wasn’t much torque placed on his knee or chance he would slam it into somebody. It will be awhile before he’s allowed to take part in 11-on-11 drills with the No. 1 offense and it’s unlikely he’ll take part in any of the three preseason games.
Kraft did want to make it clear, however, that he will be in pads with everyone else when the players put them on for the first time Aug. 3.
“I’m going to be in the same dress as everyone else all the time because I’m back now,” Kraft said. “I’m going to be part of practice phase-by-phase as much as I can moving forward. So, wherever the team is at, I am now a part of practice in every facet now.”
The Packers and Kraft have recently begun talks on a contract extension , but Kraft said he did not consider a “hold-in”, which is when a player reports to camp so he’s not fined but claims an injury is preventing him from practicing. It’s a way to put pressure on the club to advance negotiations and to ensure the player doesn’t suffer an injury that would affect his bargaining power.
Kraft is supremely confident in himself and will be seeking a blockbuster deal given he was playing as well as any tight end in the league when he got hurt against the Carolina Panthers. However, it’s likely he has also taken out an insurance policy that will cover him financially if something drastic were to happen.
“I understand other people’s worries in that facet,” Kraft said. “However, I myself, I’m just worried about getting back to who I was pre-injury.”
Going into the Panthers game, he ranked ninth among all tight ends with 30 catches, but he led the position in average yards per catch (15.6) and average yards after the catch per reception (10.8) and was tied for first in touchdowns (six).
If he had maintained that pace, he would have been a good bet for his first Pro Bowl.
Most importantly, the Packers offense missed his output both in the passing game and running game. By season’s end, it dropped from seventh to 10th in yards and from tied for fifth to 13th in points per game.
Kraft expects it to take time before he’s the same guy pre-injury, but he’s supremely confident in his ability to conquer every stage of his return.
“Like I don’t want anyone to get their expectations too high,” he said. “I’m not going to be doing anything too crazy here for a while. But as long as our GM and our training staff and the coaches, everyone’s on the same page, I’ll just get phased in period by period until you guys see me out there taking team reps.
“So, that’s the goal. We’re in that ramp-up phase right now to get ready for Week 1.”
Kraft has no doubt he’ll be ready for the opener in Minnesota. He doesn’t anticipate taking part in preseason games but expressed some hope he’d be able to take part in a joint practice with the Arizona Cardinals during the final week of training camp.
When asked about encountering some good days and bad days, he said he isn’t expecting any bad ones.
“People talk about things like that, but they’re not me,” he said. “I’ve had a great experience so far and I’m going to continue to push and be the best I can be.”
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers tight end Tucker Kraft returns with his eye on season opener
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