With Tucker Kraft back in practice, the clock truly starts on extension talks

The Packers were never going to finalize a new deal for Tucker Kraft before he returned to the field. Now that he has, an extension should soon follow.

Good morning!

Since reporting for training camp early last week, the Green Bay Packers have already completed multiple practices. On Monday, they’ll put on pads for the first time. At long last, something approximating real football will take place on the practice fields around 1265 Lombardi Ave.

At the same time, the topic du jour in Green Bay involves a player who began camp on the sidelines and only just passed his physical on Friday. Today’s edition of The Leap tackles that heady matter.

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With Tucker Kraft back in practice, the clock truly starts on extension talks

Jason B. Hirschhorn: The Packers have made a handful of major contractual commitments this offseason. Between new deals for Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, and Devonte Wyatt, the team officially committed $197.15 million ($73.22 million guaranteed at signing). That figure doesn’t include smaller extensions for players like Isaiah McDuffie or money allocated to free agents such as Javon Hargrave and Benjamin St-Juste.

Yet, the Packers’ biggest piece of business remains unresolved: completing a long-term extension for star tight end Tucker Kraft.

Unlike the players who signed extensions earlier this year to remain in Green Bay, Kraft began training camp on the physically unable to perform list as he continues to work his way back from last season’s ACL tear. Though both he and team leadership expect he’ll ramp up to a full workload prior to Week 1, his recovery still complicates contract talks.

“There’s been discussions,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said of negotiations with Kraft. “Both us and him, I think it’s in the best interests to try and get something done. But these things take time, and we’ve gone through a bunch of extensions this summer kind of knowing this was going to be the one right about now. We have a little bit of time. He’s just not there yet. I would expect, hopefully, that would get done, but you never know how they’re going to go.”

Those comments came last Wednesday, before the first practice of training camp. In the time since, Kraft has passed his physical and returned to practice, a significant milestone in his rehab process.

So, with Kraft officially back in the fold, will a new contract finally come to fruition?

While certain aspects of contract talks will always stay behind closed doors, the public generally doesn’t understand the nuances of these types of negotiations. In particular, some fans worry that the team and Kraft’s agent could have material disagreements over a potential deal’s total value and/or duration.

However, given the circumstances of this negotiation -- a 25-year-old emerging superstar at a position where the two largest contracts emerged over the past 16 months -- both sides already know approximately where those figures will land. Kraft’s extension will feature an average annual value at or near George Kittle’s deal ($19.1 million) with the vast majority or all of the fully guaranteed money coming in a signing bonus (a Packers staple). As for the contract’s length, it will most likely mirror the agreements signed by Kittle and Trey McBride (four years).

A contract negotiation like Kraft’s still involves plenty of variables outside of the overarching terms that every NFL insider will race to post on social media when the time comes. For example, the two sides must agree on incentives for offseason-program participation (another Packers staple), the timing and amount for roster bonuses (often converted to signing bonuses later to spread cap hits or used to force favorable timing of a player release), and any void years tacked on to the deal (also for cap purposes).

And, of course, the Packers had no reason to rush an extension this offseason while Kraft mended from his ACL tear. While knee reconstruction has transformed from a career changer to the type of surgery and rehabilitation process from which most players fully recover, no doctor can guarantee a good outcome. Just because, say, Christian Watson returned from his torn ACL and looked like the best version of himself doesn’t mean that Kraft will do the same. Green Bay surely remembers all the challenges involved with David Bakhtiari’s reconstructed knee.

Accordingly, when Gutekunst said the Packers “have a little time” because Kraft was “just not there yet” in his recovery, those words carried real weight. The team wanted to see the young tight end clear the necessary hurdles in his rehab before moving forward with a long-term extension.

But soon, Kraft will check the final box in his return. Over the next few weeks, he’ll begin participating in 11-on-11 periods, the final checkpoint in his recovery. Once that moment arrives, the Packers won’t have a compelling concern holding them back from extending Kraft.

So, while a certain segment of fans vents on the internet about the absence of an agreement, the signs always pointed to a deal materializing after Kraft came off the PUP list. And for his part, he seems to understand this as well.

“I think the best chance for Green Bay to win a Lombardi is with me on the field as well,” Kraft said last week. “That’s people in the front office telling me that, and the importance of us getting this deal done in a timely fashion. But ultimately, I’ve said over and over again that I’m so grateful to be a part of this organization, and I would like to keep it that way.”

Barring an unforeseeable development, the Packers and Kraft will reach an agreement on a new contract, likely before the start of the regular season. Every available sign points in that direction. That might not quiet the most vocally nervous members of the team’s fanbase, but that contingent shouldn’t have to worry much longer.