The Green Bay Packers, off to a sensational start, got some good news Saturday.
NFL.com reported that Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft is expected to play Sunday when the visiting Packers face Cleveland at noon.
Kraft was listed as questionable on the injury report after tweaking his left knee in Thursday’s practice, then missing practice on Friday.
“Yeah, hopefully he’ll be all right, but we’ll just kind of see how it goes,” Green Bay offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said of Kraft. “Obviously, if anyone goes down that you have as a part of your game plan, you’ll have to adjust some things. So we’ll kind of see what happens with the injury report and everything like that, and what the trainers say, and we’ll make adjustments.”
Kraft leads the Packers in receptions (eight), receiving yards (140) and receiving touchdowns (two) through two games.
Kraft is coming off an enormous game in the Packers’ 27-18 Week 2 win over Washington.
Kraft had a 57-yard reception on Green Bay’s first scoring drive in that contest when he ran vertical and was left uncovered. Kraft had an 8-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter that extended Green Bay’s lead to 24-10.
“Oh, that boy’s nice,” Packers wideout Romeo Doubs said of Kraft. “Man, he is nice and it’s no surprise. You see it every day. Only difference is it’s gameday now.”
Kraft’s most impressive play, though, might have been a 17-yard reception in the right flat midway through the second quarter. Kraft caught the ball just 5 yards downfield and safety Will Harris had a chance to make an immediate tackle. But Kraft ran Harris over, rumbled to the 7-yard line and two plays later Josh Jacobs had a 2-yard TD run.
“I mean, he’s a guy that approaches the game the right way,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Kraft. “I can’t say enough great things about Tuck and just the growth that we’ve seen from him from the time he’s gotten here. But it’s not only on the football field, it’s every facet of life, I would say. And he’s a real leader for us.”
And a leader Green Bay figures to have Sunday.
