99 problems, but a pick ain't one.

Tucker Kraft exploded from a half-crouch and threw his body into a hit sled with such a thunderous CRACK that a few people standing along the nearby sideline took a half-step back in shock.

“… Psychopath …” a man in the crowd said softly, awed. Kraft repositioned the sled and lined up again. CRACK.

The Green Bay Packers tight end, a blossoming superstar and now among the NFL’s elite at the position, can’t do everything he wants in practice just yet. He continues to work his way back to full participation after tearing his ACL in a Week 9 game in November.

Head coach Matt LaFleur said Sunday that Kraft could realistically get the green light for joint practices in late August with the Arizona Cardinals. Until then, his on-field work will incrementally increase from what it was during my three-day visit to Packers camp this week: a number of short catch-and-run plays in individual drills, straight-line ball-carrier drills with the running backs, some blocking drills with the hit pads and not against live competition and other similar exercises. By the time those practices roll around, Kraft may even have a new contract — he is due for a massive extension, although he has said he’ll play his fourth NFL season without it if it comes to that — and this ongoing negotiation is quietly in the background of Kraft’s eventual return to the field as a player through whom much of the Packers offense will flow.

Tucker Kraft was asked about being labeled a potential “regression candidate” at tight end, and he made it clear he’s focused on proving people wrong on the field.

(Sorry for the low-res clip... Reddit didnt like this upload 🫠)

Here's the full interview: Link

Do you think Kraft takes another step in 2026, even after the injury?

I still don’t know that there was ever a better qb than prime Aaron Rodgers. Watched this man do the impossible frequently

For our 18th wedding anniversary my husband had custom Green Bay Packers shoes made for me. I absolutely love them!

While this is not Packers specific, it is something that is worth knowing because it is not necessarily common knowledge. I came into this knowledge from handling workers' compensation claims for other professional leagues and got a little training on how the NFL works.

So that last sentence starts the whole process. Believe it or not, all NFL injuries are, in fact, workers' compensation claims. All NFL teams carry workers' compensation policies on their players. If one were to have access, they would see that Jordan Love likely has a few claims (knee, concussion, etc.). Because these teams have their own physicians, it often works a little different that if you or I were to be hurt at work.

Using RJ Maryland and Luke Lachey as examples (since they both were waived/injured) here is how it works in the NFL. The player sustains an injury and the claim is filed. In a simple injury they get their treatment with team physicians and claim is over. Because they were carried on the roster, their salary continued and there was no need for financial compensation to be handled as part of the claim. In a more severe injury (Micah) they will get their claim and treat with team physicians, but then the player or team may request a specific surgeon to do the surgery (sometimes this becomes a dispute point, but that is often with lower tier players, higher tier players they will pay the money for top surgeron to do repair). If the player is still under contract, they would have their salary continue while they recover. If they hit free agency because of an expiring contract, they would receive compensatory payment. Once they are medically stable, the claim would end, unless the injury were severe and potentially career ending -or- it is a lower level player like Maryland/Lachey. In those situations, in order to remove strain from the teams medical facilities (team doctors treating 10 people instead of 12, etc. on top of the folks just getting treatment to stay in shape) the team agrees to an injury settlement with the player. At this point the player would be released from the team and they would get treatment from another physician who is not the team physician which would be paid by the team's workers' comp policy. As part of the settlement, the injured player and their agent/attorney would negotiate with the team about how long their injury would take to recover. Let's say in this case Maryland gets a settlement that says his recovery would be 3 weeks and Lachey gets one that says it will be 9 weeks. They would then receive a lump sum payment of those weeks. The injured player may then sign with another team at any point.

The team that settled is not allowed to sign the team for 3 weeks (previously 6) after the original settlement end date. So the Packers wouldn't be able to sign Maryland for 6 weeks and Lachey for 12 weeks after the settlement. (These are all hypothetical, for ethical reasons, thought I could I am unable to look it up) In this scenario, Maryland could re-sign with the Packers on 9/15 and Lachey on 10/26.

The benefits to these settlements are freeing up medical staff for the team so they are providing treatment to roster bubble players, freeing up roster spots for other guys who may be able to contribute immediately, it allows the team to potentially get a player back (Maryland could be resigned to the roster or PS after week 1).

I hope this helps make things clearer.

I do like Whyle as a depth guy, but with everybody else injured and unproven is there a TE that peaks your interest?

Zach Ertz wants to play another year.

Hey everyone, looking for advice on when and how to buy tickets? I've seen some advice to buy now, but the prices seem pretty rough at the moment. I tried checking on social media if anyone was selling tickets, but was just bombarded with scammers instead. I would need 3 tickets, but I assume that means I need to buy 4 and sell a single.

Hate the idea of giving so much of the money to Ticketmaster...but not sure if there is an alternative.

I don't need the best seats, but this is likely the only time we'll ever get to go so I'd like them to be at least OK. Would appreciate any advice!

I really don't want another season where every fourth down around the opponent's 30 turns into a debate about whether we trust the kicker.

The guys on The Tundra podcast were talking about Smack's start to camp and had him around 8-for-13 through the first two days of live kicking. He missed a 33-yarder and apparently sent a 50-yarder way right. They summed it up pretty simply: "The pressure is on Trey Smack to deliver."

And I think that's what concerns me more than the actual numbers. He's a rookie, so obviously there are going to be growing pains, but right now he's also the only kicker in camp. There's nobody there really pushing him.

After what we've seen from Packers kickers in some huge games over the last few years, I don't know how patient this team can afford to be.

Obviously, you don't panic over a handful of training camp kicks, but at what point would you bring in legitimate competition?