Kraft expects full Week 1 return after ACL tear; elite pre-injury form with 469 yards, 6 TDs in 8 games.

Kraft expects to be full go come Week 1 after tearing his ACL in Week 9 last season. He said he's doing 'better than expected' physically and recently clocked 21.5 mph while sprinting. He anticipates starting training camp on the physically unable to perform list but head coach Matt LaFleur left open the possibility for him to be on the field for the first training camp practice in late July. Kraft stated: 'With how I feel, I would say I'm gonna get all the conditioning I need in camp to start Week 1 on no pitch count.' He also said his quad looks great, swelling is minimal to none, and he has no weird pains or aches coming out of treatment and training. From Weeks 1-8 last season before his injury, Kraft ranked third among tight ends in receiving yards (469 yards; Tyler Warren had 492, Travis Kelce had 474), tied for second in touchdown catches (six; only Dallas Goedert had more with seven), and first in yards after catch per reception (11.2; second place was 7.9). He described his role as a do-it-all Y tight end capable of performing across all offensive schemes and situations, claiming no other tight end in the league was doing it as well as he was at the time of his injury. Kraft expects to return to that elite form immediately, rejecting the narrative that players come back from injury diminished: 'I'm not really buying into the people come back off an injury and aren't the same.' He is entering the final year of his rookie deal as a 2023 third-round pick and is likely to sign a contract extension with the Packers in the near future, potentially becoming the highest-paid tight end in the NFL this summer (George Kittle currently leads at $19.1M/year, followed by Trey McBride at $19M/year).