Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft was carted into the locker room after suffering a knee injury in the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Kraft lined up left and was moving to his right behind the line of scrimmage to block for RB Josh Jacobs when he ran into the backside of Packers guard Sean Rhyan, who was blocking Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton on the play. After getting helped to the sideline, Kraft went into the blue injury tent. He then went directly from the tent to the cart.
The Packers announced Kraft had a knee injury and was questionable to return. He was later ruled out.
Kraft has been among the league’s best tight ends this season. He ranked third in receiving yards (469) and second in receiving touchdowns (six) at the position ahead of Sunday’s NFL slate. Kraft, who turns 25 on Monday, entered this game with 30 catches — the most of any Packer this season. He was also coming off a career performance in which he had seven receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He’s just the third tight end in league history to have at least 30 receptions, 450 yards receiving and six touchdown catches while averaging 15.5-plus yards per reception in the first seven games of a season. The others are Jimmy Graham (2013) and Rob Gronkowski (2015).
Packers WR Matthew Golden also suffered a shoulder injury in Sunday’s game and is questionable to return. He was also later ruled out.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
