Going into this summer, tight end was already one of the thinnest positions on the Green Bay Packers roster. Sadly, this problem has only gotten worse over the last week. A recent flurry of injuries to the tight end position has eaten into what little depth they had, and now presents the team with some tough decisions.
Here’s the list of the 7 tight ends the Packers currently have on the roster.
- Tucker Kraft
- Luke Musgrave
- Josh Whyle
- Luke Lachey
- RJ Maryland
- Messiah Swinson
- Drake Dabney
As of right now, only Whyle, Swinson and Dabney would be available to play if there were a game tomorrow.
Tucker Kraft is still rehabbing from his ACL injury last season. While that seems to be going well, there is still a lot of work left for him to be ready by week 1.
Luke Musgrave, the presumptive no. 2 tight end, is currently on the PUP list with a mysterious neck injury. Lafleur has said this injury will take some time to heal. Honestly, it seems like nobody knows when Musgrave might be back.
On top of all this, both Luke Lachey and RJ Maryland left practice today with injuries and Lachey was seen wearing a boot in the locker room after practice. This makes the remaining tight end depth one ply paper thin.
Only Josh Whyle, Messiah Swinson and Drake Dabney remain healthy. Not only is that not enough to field a roster, it is not enough to get through a practice! The Green Bay Packers desperately need to add something to their tight end room at this point, even if it is just a warm body.
Thankfully, there’s actually a few decent names still available in the free agent market right now. Will Dissly, Jonnu Smith, Taysom Hill or Zach Ertz could all be good/fun additions that would cost almost nothing.
If Brian Gutekunst were to ask my advice, this is what I would do. I’d call Will Dissly’s agent as soon as the sun comes up tomorrow. He’d add quite a lot as an inline blocking tight end and might actually be the no. 2 tight end on this roster even when everybody is healthy.
Expect the Green Bay Packers to make an addition here soon, but until then, let’s hope for better health luck for the tight ends!
