The Inexperienced Bay Packers suffered a pair of crushing blows on Sunday. Not solely have been they upset at residence by the Carolina Panthers, however in addition they misplaced tight finish Tucker Kraft to what they worry is a torn ACL.
Kraft was an integral a part of the Packers offense and had logged 32 catches for 489 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season earlier than happening with the harm, so it is a brutal loss for Inexperienced Bay.
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The Packers could now have to show to Luke Musgrave — who was chosen one spherical forward of Kraft within the 2023 NFL Draft — as their main tight finish transferring ahead … except they’ve a commerce up their sleeves.
With the NFL commerce deadline looming on Tuesday, a really apparent goal has emerged for Inexperienced Bay within the wake of Kraft’s harm: Cleveland Browns tight finish David Njoku.
Njoku is within the last 12 months of his contract and appears to be a reasonably clear commerce candidate for the Browns, who chosen Harold Fannin Jr. within the draft final April and have already been using him as their No. 1 tight finish.
Whereas Njoku is probably not as gifted as Kraft, he’s a Professional Bowler who hauled in 82 receptions for 881 yards and 6 scores in 2023. Final 12 months, he caught 64 passes for 505 yards and 5 scores, and in seven video games this season, he has snared 27 balls for 260 yards whereas reaching the top zone twice.
The 29-year-old shouldn’t be extremely pricey for the Packers and will most likely be had for a Day 3 decide, so if the Browns are keen (and I do not see why they would not be), Njoku would comprise a terrific addition.
Kraft served as a safety blanket for Jordan Love, boasting a catch fee of 73.5 p.c over his first three NFL seasons. Njoku is not fairly there (65.1 p.c), however he stays stable and would not less than present Inexperienced Bay with a extra confirmed choice than Musgrave, who flashed throughout his rookie marketing campaign and hasn’t accomplished a complete lot since.
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The Packers shall be getting huge receiver Jayden Reed again later within the 12 months, and Christian Watson lately returned. However not having Kraft will lead to a reasonably important gap within the aerial assault. Njoku will not plug it solely, as a result of he is not pretty much as good, however there is no such thing as a query that the College of Miami product would assist.
We’ll see if Inexperienced Bay tries to swing a transfer for Njoku earlier than the deadline involves a detailed.
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