The Green Bay Packers suffered a surprising upset loss at the hands of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, in a 16-13 defeat that came just a week after the team’s big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Green Bay’s loss wasn’t the only bad news for the team, though, as star tight end Tucker Kraft left the game in the third quarter and was later ruled out for the rest of the contest in the fourth quarter. Before leaving the game, Kraft, who leads the team in receiving, had two receptions for 20 yards.
After the contest, head coach Matt LeFleur revealed “it doesn’t look good” referring to Kraft’s prognosis.
“It’s going to be tough. But it’s football. The other guys are going to have to step up,” he said, suggesting the team expected a lengthy absence without its top target.
Fewer than 24 hours after Kraft left Sunday’s game, the MRI results revealed the tight end did suffer a torn ACL and will be out for the rest of the season.
Quarterback Jordan Love admitted the huge loss of Kraft, who leads the team in receiving yards and touchdowns, impacted Sunday’s game.
“Tuck means a lot,” Love said. “I think his leadership role and then obviously his play on the field. He’s been playing at a high level. We’ll see what the injury is, but not having him out there for the rest of the game was huge. So, yeah, it’s one of those situations, though. It’s the next man up. We’ve got to find ways to keep playing at a high level without him out there.”
Green Bay fell to 5-2-1 on the season with Sunday’s loss before a massive showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10.
2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.