Packers keep stacking tight ends, and the math tells you something

Tucker Kraft was activated off the PUP list on July 31, less than nine months removed from an ACL tear, and the public line from his camp has been optimistic — start Week 1, no pitch count. Green Bay's roster moves since then suggest the front office is listening politely and planning accordingly. The team brought in both McCallan Castles and Drew Biber on August 4, waiving two players to make room. That's two tight ends added in a single day, for a position where the starter is theoretically healthy and back at practice.

Kraft's 2025 numbers, in the eight games he played before the injury, were genuinely good — six touchdown receptions and nearly 500 receiving yards. The talent isn't the question. The question is whether a player nine months into ACL recovery, working on a limited basis, is someone you can count on for a full season. My read is the front office has decided the honest answer is probably not, at least not without a real safety net beneath him.

What's notable is the pattern. This isn't one depth signing; it's a summer of them at the position. The Packers have been quietly building a tight end room that can function without Kraft if it comes to that. Whether Castles or Biber sticks past final cuts is a separate conversation, but the accumulation itself is the signal. Green Bay learned last December what happens when depth runs thin. They don't appear eager to find out again.