Luke Musgrave Could Give the Packers Another Weapon Down the Stretch
By GilMartin
The Green Bay Packers announced that they have designated second-year tight end Luke Musgrave for return from the injured reserve on Wednesday. Musgrave can now practice with the team for up to 21 days. At that point, the team must either place him on the active roster or shelve him for the rest of the season.
The potential return of Musgrave could give the Green Bay offense a boost as the team looks to finish the season on a high note and prepare for the playoffs.
The Packers selected Musgrave in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The former Oregon State star caught 34 passes during his rookie year for 352 yards and a touchdown. He played 11 games last season while starting nine.
Musgrave made a good first impression on the coaching staff. During his rookie year, head coach Matt LaFleur described Musgrave by saying, “He’s so intentional, so focused, he’s very intelligent, super coachable and I think he loves the game. So, it’s fun to coach a guy like that.”
The Packers also added Tucker Kraft in the third round of the same draft to revitalize their tight end room. The two had different skill sets. Musgrave provided the team with more of a downfield threat who can stretch the field. Kraft specialized on shorter routes and made his yards by running after the catch.
Musgrave started the season fast as a rookie, but injuries disrupted his season. In Week 11, he suffered a lacerated kidney and placed on injured reserve. He did not return to the lineup until the season finale against the Bears.
In the playoffs, Musgrave played a bigger role. He caught three passes for 52 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys in the Packers first postseason contest. A week later, he added three more catches against the 49ers.
The Packers were hoping Musgrave would take a step forward in his second NFL campaign. Unfortunately for both the tight end and the team, injuries continued to derail Musgrave in 2024.
He started the first two games of the season but caught only one pass for six yards. It was becoming readily apparent that Kraft was getting more reps than Musgrave early in the season. In the first four games, he caught a total of five passes for 22 yards.
In the team’s Week 4 loss to the Vikings, Musgrave suffered an ankle injury. The injury required surgery and once again, Musgrave found himself out of the lineup.
Now, Musgrave is back at practice. The team will not rush him back, especially after he missed so much time with this ankle injury.
“You just take it one day at a time and add a little bit more, and then a little bit more, and we'll see where we're at,” LaFleur told reporters.
Kraft will likely remain as the team’s starter even when Musgrave is back and at full strength. But Musgrave can repeat what he did late last season, returning to the lineup and giving the team another weapon to add to the offense.
The Packers offense can use another player who can stretch the field. The team may even use both tight ends in the lineup at the same time to create mismatches for opposing defenses. Even if Kraft or Musgrave are not the primary target on a play, they can create time and space for teammates. Both are also capable of blocking downfield.
Quarterback Jordan Love is excited about the prospect of having both tight ends available. “It would be big time,” Love said. “I think the last time we had it was really during training camp, having both those guys out there. And it definitely changes the plays we call and some of the formations we have and personnel groupings. But to have both those guys out on the field, those are two really good tight ends. So, I think it definitely changes the way we can call some plays and things like that. It’s been tough not having Luke out there, so to get him back healthy and back out on the field would be big time.”
Musgrave took the next step towards his return on Wednesday. The Packers are hoping they can add another weapon to their offense in time for the stretch drive and the playoffs. Musgrave would completely fit the bill.
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Comments (33)
T7Steve
December 12, 2024 at 10:41 am
Hope the best for this young man. I think we've only scratched the surface of what having two versatile and highly talented TEs with different skillsets on the field at the same time or even separately with diverse packages will be like.
DragonSilk
December 12, 2024 at 12:59 pm
He's missed a lot of football. I hope he doesn't have to learn all over again how to not fall down after he catches the ball.
jannesbjornson
December 14, 2024 at 01:22 am
The pick should have been Keanu Benton, a DT staring them right in the face,playing for Badger. Musgrave had a solid junior year, but his injuries in college should have been a red flag. A long strider. Kraft was and still is the best TE from the 2023 class.
stockholder
December 14, 2024 at 06:58 am
No- Brian Branch- S.
We needed a safety. Got Fas.
Branch would have changed the 2024 draft.
And the 2023 was the deepest TE draft in years.
DragonSilk
December 14, 2024 at 10:14 am
Yea and we should have picked Barry Sanders and TJ Watt and on and on. So what?
To quote Norman Dale "This is your team,"
LambeauPlain
December 12, 2024 at 10:43 am
Musky's injuries are adding up for a kid not yet through his sophomore season. I am concerned they are taking a toll on body and mind...a lacerated kidney is a big deal. He also had a severe knee injury his last year in college.
He did not look like the same player to start camp and the season.
cdoemel
December 12, 2024 at 08:59 pm
It’s the NFL. Players get injured. They have people in place to help guys through this.
Coldworld
December 12, 2024 at 10:44 am
Let’s see how much time they give him to get back up to speed. He isn’t a plus as a blocker, so I expect it’s offensive variety that he will offer and, at this point, I don’t think we are using Kraft offensively often enough. He’s does give them another big target on straight up field routes. Who does he replace though? How much we see of that before the playoffs depends on where he’s at in terms of recovery and rust.
splitpea1
December 12, 2024 at 11:05 am
Musgrave is still only doing individual drills at this point, so it may be a couple of games before we actually see him play.
When he does, I hope we can do better than throw him short passes unless he's open for a first down. You want to take advantage of his downfield speed, and in the red zone, his height. I still can't believe he's only caught one TD so far.
T7Steve
December 12, 2024 at 11:19 am
You'd think he'd be the target for a high point throw to the corner of the endzone every time they're down there. If there's nowhere else to go throw it to the corner where he's the only one that can catch it.
splitpea1
December 12, 2024 at 12:18 pm
Exactly what I was thinking....either that or somewhere in the back of the end zone over a short CB.
T7Steve
December 12, 2024 at 12:29 pm
I don't know of one corner that's close to 6'-6" or even 6'-2", do you?
splitpea1
December 12, 2024 at 01:38 pm
Richard Sherman was 6'-3" and so was our own Kevin King. So is Sauce Gardner. Seattle should be starting Woolen, 6'-4", against us in a couple of days.
Coldworld
December 12, 2024 at 02:43 pm
Stokes is 6’1. Valentine is 6’ and a bit. 6’4 I believe ties a record for a corner. Typically, the problem with tall corners is they don’t have the ability to turn on a time or change direction as quickly. Potentially great in tight sideline coverage, the more physical the better (use of length and better size) in contested coverage. In zone they typically don’t do well.
Sherman and the legion of boom got around it by playing deeper, facing the QB and attacking the catch point hard, once they read the trajectory. In other words designed to contest the catch point aggressively. That’s nearest to what Barry had Stokes doing as a rookie. It’s nothing like we’ve seen this year.
This year Seattle uses the Legion of Boom cover 3 much less. They play a lot of quarters, man to man and split cover 2/3 coverage with Woolen used to benefit from his length and size. They are adept at disguising what they are actually doing.
splitpea1
December 12, 2024 at 03:19 pm
Woolen was an excellent find for the Seahawks. Like Sherman, he was also drafted in the 5th round, so Schneider has hit the jackpot twice down there-- and in this case with a very raw prospect coming out of college.
Coldworld
December 12, 2024 at 04:47 pm
Sherman was also used in a system that suited him. From the relatively little I’ve seen, Woolen is too. They don’t ask and expect them to be classic nimble corners. We have seemed to assume that size doesn’t matter (unless you are under 5’10). It does for almost any athlete, if you want to play off, react coverage. I liked Woolen coming out. I don’t think we’d have done him any favors by picking him though (and he’s been better than I anticipated too).
GregC
December 12, 2024 at 11:31 am
Jordan Love already has plenty of targets, so I'm not sure the offense will benefit much by adding one more. They barely used Musgrave at the beginning of the season. I'm hoping they will mix in some 2-TE sets when they can get mismatches and maybe hit on some big plays down the middle. No more 1-yard dump-offs to Musgrave, please.
T7Steve
December 12, 2024 at 12:41 pm
Anything relatively new or rarely used could be a game changer this late or in the playoffs. There are always more players missing snaps/games and good depth is what's the difference between going home or not. Don't you think?
GregC
December 12, 2024 at 12:49 pm
If Kraft gets hurt, Musgrave could be extremely valuable, even though they would have to change the offense to get the most out of him. If Kraft does not get hurt, it's hard to see Musgrave having a major role in the offense.
T7Steve
December 12, 2024 at 01:02 pm
He'll probably take Sim's or the other's snaps if his blocking can hold up. It will be one more a D will have to account for.
Bitternotsour
December 12, 2024 at 01:01 pm
Offensive stats:
Total yards per game: 376.3 - 6th
Yards per play 6.28 - 3rd
Rush yards per game - 144.7 5th
Pass yards per play 8.2 - 3rd
Sacks allowed per pass attempt 4.36% - 3rd
Points per game 26.8 - 7th
Sacks allowed 16 - 2nd.
I guess there's room for improvement, but the offense is pretty stellar.
canadapacker
December 12, 2024 at 01:03 pm
The Lions plugged the middle and even Jacobs had a hard time getting things going. Kraft even got blown up when blocking even by smaller guys against the Lions. I would hope that the Pack can get Jacobs slightly more outside against the Seahawks and into the second level. Two tight end sets might do it and if they get some success there then maybe gets the down field shots to open up. Melton seems to have disappeared a bit - but we need these guys to produce - especially in the red zone - Love tends to hold the ball too long down here - and as long as his accuracy down here is better - those plays are available and gets us TDs rather than field goals or INT's.
Coldworld
December 12, 2024 at 02:51 pm
If we want to get a man outside the tackles then I hope they use Wilson. He’s the most suited of the 3 active.
canadapacker
December 12, 2024 at 04:33 pm
I also like the 2 back set with both Jacobs and Wilson on the field.
NFLfan
December 12, 2024 at 01:34 pm
I get the feeling the team wasn't that high on Musgrave pre-ankle injury--blocking issues, dropped balls.
I remember Musgrave being the more high-lighted TE, initially, with Kraft in the shadows but the tide has turned.
Coldworld
December 12, 2024 at 02:54 pm
Musgrave is a move type. He’s a big, physical WR in many ways. He barely blocked in college. He’s not shy of contact, just not proficient. He’s a straight line super sized WR and, for a WR, a decent blocker. I don’t know about drops, the problem was more keeping his feet. Kraft has much better balance and faster feet.
Bitternotsour
December 12, 2024 at 05:39 pm
Musgrave is Alan Lazard if Lazard was fast.
Leatherhead
December 12, 2024 at 02:59 pm
I think he's a good player who can help us and we still have him under contract for two more years after this season. In Green Bay, we like TEs that are essentially an offensive lineman who gets a couple of targets a game, and Kraft is doing a good job of that AND even showing some running skills, which is a bonus.
I don't think Musgrave is going to have much of an impact this year unless Kraft gets hurt. Next year, with some more recovery and workout time, I'd expect Musgrave to contribute more.
GregC
December 12, 2024 at 04:29 pm
They knew Musgrave would be more of a receiving TE when they drafted him, and that's how they used him last year. I was surprised by his drastically reduced role in the offense in the first four games this season, before he got hurt. He was a second round pick, and he's a gifted athlete, so I gotta think they will make a serious effort to get him involved in the offense next year. This year is looking like a lost cause for him however.
Bitternotsour
December 12, 2024 at 05:36 pm
Tucker Kraft's 39 receptions are only exceeded by Reed (44). You could be saying that wideouts in Green Bay are essentially offensive linemen because they're required to block.
That narrative is stupid and you should give it up. Every player that gets open gets the ball in Green Bay, your tired narrative notwithstanding.
Leatherhead
December 12, 2024 at 05:47 pm
Ouch!. I look at a guy who blocks on every running play and several passing plays and who is only targeted a few times a game. Blocking isn't a requirement, it's his primary function. We've targeted the TE 66 times in 13 games. How many times in a game does that work out to? Kraft, has the overwhelming majority of those 66 targets with 54. 54 targets in 13 games.
When the Packers throw, they like to throw downfield to WRs, who are faster and are bigger threats for a big play. That's the way they're built. It's been that way for quite a long time, actually.
The WRs have to block, too, but it's not like they're taking on linebackers and DEs at the point of attack. Kraft is a big part of the success we're having on the ground this year.
I'll endeavor to refrain from any further stupidity, but I can't make any promises.
Bitternotsour
December 12, 2024 at 07:07 pm
Tight ends are receivers in this offense. It's an equal opportunity situation. Both of those guys were drafted as large receivers. Not blocking receivers. Perhaps if LaFleur renamed them Large Slots you would be more comfortable with the concept. When Watson/WIcks comes in motion and lines up behind the tackle or just inside or outside it's the same concept.
I too make no promises re future stupidity, it's coming, I never quite know when.
cdoemel
December 12, 2024 at 09:13 pm
Dude! Don’t be a dick!! He’s not saying Kraft “should only” be a blocker, but that is what TE’s have been in GB primarily. Mercedes’ one target every other game was the rule. Yea it will be awesome to have these 2 guys healthy for a full season. It hasn’t happened yet. If Musgrave becomes the sure-handed guy and Kraft blocks for a living, I don’t think either will complain. Only you’ll complain. It’s what you do. But if I was Musgraves agent I would highly recommend Lucas learns to block.