Tucker Kraft was in the middle of a breakout season before tearing his ACL on November 2nd. The injury happened in the third quarter when a teammate's leg collided with his during a run block — a brutal, fluky ending to his best year as a pro. The Packers never fully recovered offensively after losing him.

Before going down, Kraft had become a vital piece of this offense. Green Bay was 5-2-1 with him healthy, and he had racked up 32 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns. Had he stayed on the field, he was on pace for roughly 94 catches, 1,040 yards, and 13 touchdowns — numbers that would've put him in the conversation with the best tight ends in the league. And based on what he said at OTAs, that's exactly where Kraft sees himself.

"I went out as tight end 1, in my opinion," Kraft said. "Just the things that I do at the point of attack, where I'm at on any given play, I feel like I went out at the top.… I thought that, as a combination of the do-it-all Y tight end, which is me, that there wasn't another guy in the league that was doing it as well as I was. Some people might think I'm delusional to say that…The film is going to speak for itself. Outside zone, inside zone, screen game, down the field. As far as putting it all together, I felt like I was at a great spot."

It’s hard to argue with him. Kraft is everything you want in a modern tight end — a mismatch in the passing game and a key piece at the point of attack in the run game. The only real question is how he bounces back from a torn ACL, and even that doesn't seem to faze him.

"I'm not really buying into the 'people come back off an injury and aren't the same,'" Kraft said. "If you're not coming back off your injury the same, then what are you doing? What were you doing your entire rehab? Some people might not be the same, but they don't speak for me."

The Packers may be cautious and start him on the PUP list when training camp opens, but the expectation from both sides is that he won't miss much time. When Kraft is back out there, Matt LaFleur's offense gets a whole lot more dangerous — and whenever that time comes, he'll likely be one of the highest-paid tight ends in NFL history.

Eyeing the Tight End Market

All signs are pointing toward a Kraft extension happening sooner rather than later. Brian Gutekunst has already said he's been in contact with Kraft and his agent. Kraft himself has been open about wanting to spend his entire NFL career in Green Bay. Two other young tight ends just got paid this week. And oh yeah — Kraft just listed his house in Green Bay for sale. The writing is pretty much on the wall.

Kraft is also entering a contract year at just the right time. He's 26 years old, and before the injury, he was in the middle of the best football of his career. He's going to get paid — and paid well — with a deal that could make him one of the highest-paid tight ends in the league.

So what does that market actually look like? George Kittle sits at the top at $19.1 million per year, followed closely by Trey McBride at $19 million. Those two are in a tier of their own.

Just below them, the tight end market got a little more interesting this past week. Kyle Pitts — who is the same age as Kraft — signed a three-year, $54 million extension with the Falcons, including $36 million guaranteed. That puts him at $18 million per year, third in the league. Then there's Brenton Strange, who is 25 and just locked in with the Jaguars on a three-year, $48 million deal with $25 million in guarantees. Strange had one year left on his rookie deal when he signed, so his effective annual value comes in closer to $12 million. That sets a pretty clear floor for what Kraft can expect.

What Will Kraft's Deal Look Like?

Kraft is one of the best tight ends in the league, and the market is set. His agent, Jack Bechta, also represents George Kittle — so he knows exactly where the ceiling is and how to get there. Bechta has been eyeing the Kittle and McBride contracts as the bookends of this negotiation since day one. The Pitts extension helps establish the floor, but Kraft should land above him annually.

Projection: Four-year, $77 million extension with $36 million in guaranteed money, tacked onto the final year of his rookie deal.

A four-year structure makes sense — that's just how the Packers tend to do business. The total value could land anywhere from $76 to $78 million, and tacking it onto his rookie deal would give Kraft and Bechta the bragging rights of the largest tight end contract in NFL history by total new money, while keeping the annual average value in a more team-friendly range. Could Kraft take a slight hometown discount to stay in Green Bay? Maybe, but the Packers don't really do discounts — they pay their guys fairly, and Kraft will be no different.

The biggest variable is guaranteed money. Kraft is coming off a torn ACL, and while he hasn't yet put together a full elite statistical season in the mold of Kittle or McBride, he's clearly on that trajectory. McBride tops the market at $43 million guaranteed, while Kittle and Pitts both landed around $35 to $36 million. Kraft's injury history will probably cost him a little on that front — but the Packers' approach to contracts is actually worth understanding here.

The Watson extension is a useful reference point, and not just because Watson also came back from a torn ACL. Green Bay tends to guarantee the signing bonus and build the rest of the value through incentives — and that's exactly how Watson's deal was structured. Kraft can likely expect something similar: a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $35 million, with plenty of performance incentives baked in to push the total value higher.

Wherever the number lands, Kraft is going to get paid, and soon. His desire to stay in Green Bay should make the negotiating table a smoother place than it might be otherwise. "I'd say my goal is I want to play for this organization my entire career," Kraft said. "I'm spoiled to have been drafted here, and this is all I know. Green and gold is all I know, so we'd like to keep it that way." That's the kind of thing Packer fans love to hear. The deal is coming — it's just a matter of when.