Tucker Kraft came into Week 9 riding high after his best game yet—seven catches for 143 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But just a week later, things took a tough turn. The Green Bay Packers‘ tight end went down with a knee injury against the Carolina Panthers, and now, there’s a real chance he could be sidelined for the rest of the season.

Fast forward to now, and after the injury, Kraft posted a photo on Instagram showing himself kneeling on the field, with just an hourglass emoji in the caption. The message was pretty clear: the road to recovery starts here, and he’s already counting down the time until he’s back.

After his injury took place, the analysts feared that the TE had torn his ACL and could miss the remainder of his third season in the league. Dr. Jesse Morse added another layer to it, as he noted,

“Tucker Kraft. Right knee. Most likely MCL sprain + bone bruise, but could have stressed ACL &/or PCL here. The good news is that he walked off with assistance.” Fast forward, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed what everyone had feared.

According to Schefter, per a source, Kraft did, in fact, suffer a torn ACL. His return timeline, however, is still uncertain. The injury happened midway through the third quarter on a 2nd-and-5 at the Panthers’ 45-yard line. Kraft was trying to block on a running play while running back Josh Jacobs broke loose for a 15-yard gain.

But in the middle of the action, Kraft accidentally collided with guard Sean Rhyan and went down immediately, clutching his right knee in pain. At the time of his injury, Kraft had caught receptions and returned them for 20 yards in a game the Packers lost 16-13. Before tearing his ACL, the third-year tight end tallied 32 receptions, 489 receiving yards, and six touchdowns. And now, the Packers will look to find his replacement heading into Week 10.

Tucker Kraft’s injury is going to be tough for Matt LaFleur

Nothing went right for the Packers against the Panthers. The Green Bay team, while sitting at 5-2-1, was considered the favorite in almost every game this season. But their 16-13 loss against the Panthers as a 13.5-point favorite just summed up how things didn’t go well for Matt LaFleur and Co. on Sunday. To make things worse, they also lost their TE, Tucker Kraft, to a gruesome injury.

“It doesn’t look good. It’s going to be tough. But it’s football. The other guys are going to have to step up,” the head coach said after the game. That said, after Kraft’s injury, the Packers will surely like to find his replacement.

For the time being, Luke Musgrave is the most obvious candidate to take on a larger role. He’s been in the lineup, has good athletic ability, and the team has indicated he’s ready.

“You never want to see injuries,” Musgrave said. “Injuries are the worst part of football. So, yeah, it sucks. It really sucks.” It makes sense for Musgrave. After all, he suffered a severe kidney injury in 2023 that made him a forgotten member of the Packers offense. Now that Kraft has been sidelined, one question arises: Will Musgrave take advantage of the opportunity?

“I’m very comfortable with Luke,” Jordan Love said. “I think Luke’s had his fair share of opportunities, for sure. He’s played a lot of ball and he made some big-time plays today; had a big-time catch. I think it’s keep building on that. He’ll get more opportunities. He’s just got to keep maximizing those opportunities. No, Luke’s played a lot of ball. Got a lot of confidence in him.”

That said, the Packers will now host the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, next week. We’ll see how Tucker Kraft’s replacement performs, as LaFleur believes that other guys need to step up.