{"id":959452,"date":"2026-07-30T10:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T10:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/959452\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T10:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T10:42:17","slug":"packers-are-running-out-of-time-to-solve-a-roster-problem-that-just-became-much-harder-to-ignore-during-training-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/959452\/","title":{"rendered":"Packers are running out of time to solve a roster problem that just became much harder to ignore during training camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tight end Luke Musgrave started camp on PUP, and it\u2019s unclear if his neck injury is a long-term issue for Green Bay.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Dec
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDec 28, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith (81) warms up before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScott Galvin-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Green Bay Packers enter training camp with a tight end depth issue that just became more severe. Tight end Luke Musgrave<\/a> suffered a neck injury during mandatory minicamp and started camp on the physically unable to perform list, leaving the Packers with a significant hole behind starter Tucker Kraft.<\/p>\n

General manager Brian Gutekunst acknowledged<\/a> after the 2026 NFL Draft that tight end was a position he wanted to address but couldn\u2019t because the draft unfolded differently than expected. Now, with Musgrave sidelined, Green Bay faces an even more pressing roster problem at a critical point of the offseason.<\/p>\n

Musgrave\u2019s absence creates a real void<\/p>\n

Gutekunst said the team is still determining whether Musgrave\u2019s neck injury is a long-term concern. Head coach Matt LaFleur expressed hope that it won\u2019t be, noting that Musgrave provides a speed element the Packers need at the position. Musgrave hasn\u2019t lived up to his second-round draft pedigree since Green Bay selected him in 2023, but he still fills a role in the offense.<\/p>\n

Without him, the tight end room thins out considerably, and finding quality replacements at this stage of the offseason is difficult. The room has Josh Whyle, Drake Dabney, Messiah Swinson, Luke Lachey, undrafted rookie RJ Maryland, and recently-signed Thomas Yassmin (a member of the International Pathway Program).<\/p>\n

That said, there are still free agent options<\/a> worth considering.<\/p>\n

Will Dissly<\/p>\n

The former Los Angeles Chargers tight end missed time with knee and shoulder injuries last season, but his skill set aligns well with what the Packers want. Dissly is primarily an inline blocker who can also function as a viable receiver. If LaFleur wants to run heavier personnel groupings with 12 or 22 personnel, Dissly could serve as a complementary piece alongside Kraft. He doesn\u2019t have flashy receiving numbers (his season-high is 481 receiving yards in 2024), but he\u2019s a complete tight end for this style of offense.<\/p>\n

Jonnu Smith<\/p>\n

Smith has experience in offensive systems similar to LaFleur\u2019s, most notably under Arthur Smith. He also played under LaFleur directly with the Tennessee Titans when LaFleur served as offensive coordinator in 2018, so he knows the foundational concepts of the system. Smith had a Pro Bowl season in 2024 with the Miami Dolphins, catching passes for 884 receiving yards under Mike McDaniel, another coach who runs a comparable scheme. He\u2019s older, but he still has production left and could be a legitimate receiving weapon at the position.<\/p>\n

Darren Waller<\/p>\n

The Packers have a history of pursuing Waller<\/a>. Green Bay tried to acquire him during the Davante Adams trade to the Las Vegas Raiders, but the tag-and-trade structure prevented the Packers from receiving a player as part of the compensation package. A subsequent attempt to trade for Waller also fell through. Waller came out of retirement last season and played nine games for the Miami Dolphins, recording 283 receiving yards. He\u2019s already 33 and is strictly a receiving tight end, similar in profile to Musgrave. He won\u2019t solve the blocking problem, but he could fill the pass-catching role if Musgrave\u2019s absence extends into the regular season.<\/p>\n

John FitzPatrick<\/p>\n

FitzPatrick is perhaps the most overlooked option because he already knows the system. The Packers signed him off the Atlanta Falcons\u2019 practice squad two years ago, and he played a meaningful role over the past two seasons. FitzPatrick suffered an Achilles tendon injury late last season and is likely still recovering. If he can get healthy in time for training camp or early in the regular season, he provides exactly the blocking profile LaFleur values.<\/p>\n

Late last year, Fitzpatrick played ahead of Musgrave at times because he\u2019s a much better blocker. He\u2019s not a dynamic receiver, but as a depth piece, he offers familiarity and a complementary skill set.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Packers\t\t<\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPackers quietly underwent one of the NFL\u2019s biggest offseason transformations ahead of 2026\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Matt LaFleur\u2019s coaching staff overhaul brings significant changes on all three phases of the ball, and you\u2019ll feel the difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tight end Luke Musgrave started camp on PUP, and it\u2019s unclear if his neck injury is a long-term…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":959453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2072],"tags":[265,4540,7,41,345,2514,2513,7470,6343,6,2592,428,115951],"class_list":["post-959452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-green-bay-packers","tag-american-football","tag-darren-waller","tag-football","tag-green-bay","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-greenbay","tag-greenbaypackers","tag-jonnu-smith","tag-luke-musgrave","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-free-agency","tag-packers","tag-packers-injury-updates"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117008514972769489","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/959453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}