Tucker Kraft Named Nfl’s #3 Player On An Expiring Contract

If you can believe it, there are already people looking toward the 2027 NFL free-agent cycle. Greg Rosenthal of NFL.com posted an article this week laying out the top 25 possible free agents for next year’s free-agent class heading into the 2026 regular season. Coming third on the list is the Green Bay Packers’ Tucker Kraft.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has stated several times this offseason that he hopes to get Kraft, who has now returned to practice as a full participant, signed to a long-term extension before the Packers’ 2026 regular season begins. So far, though, there has been no news about a new deal for the tight end.

According to Rosenthal, the only players who rank ahead of Kraft are Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua and Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens, who was hit with the franchise tag at a $27.3 million figure in March.

Here’s what Rosenthal had to say about Kraft:

Both the Packers and Kraft have expressed confidence that a deal will get done soon, despite last November’s ACL tear. The 6-foot-5, 259-pounder has rare value as a complete tight end.

The only other tight end on the list is Detroit Lion Sam LaPorta. It will be interesting to see which NFC North tight end ends up signing first, as whoever is second will almost certainly sign for a higher figure. They are the only two significant tight ends “due” for a new contract, following Kyle Pitts’ three-year, $54 million extension.

Right now, here are the leaders at the position, in terms of average per year:

• George Kittle: $19.1 million per
• Trey McBride: $19 million per
• Kyle Pitts: $18 million per
• Isaiah Likely: $13.3 million per

It seems likely that both Kraft and LaPorta will get more than Pitts, but the question is whether or not they will reset the tight end market entirely. So far, we’ve heard no details on how negotiations are going between the two parties on the Kraft deal.

The Packers probably won’t be very active in free agency next year, as 2027 is when the belt will really start getting tight on the team from a cap perspective, but the top cornerbacks going into the 2027 class are the Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr., the Bengals’ DJ Turner II and the Broncos’ Riley Moss. The only running back to crack Rosenthal’s top-25 is Bengals ball-carrier Chase Brown.