The Green Bay Packers announced eight different roster moves on Tuesday, including the placement of tight end Tucker Kraft — who tore his ACL in Week 9 — on injured reserve and several accompanying moves to help Matt LaFleur’s team move forward without the ascending tight end.
Tuesday was the NFL’s trade deadline, but the Packers did not make a trade and instead landed on adding to the roster using other avenues.
The Packers placed Kraft on injured reserve, signed tight end Josh Whyle and defensive end Arron Mosby from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, signed tight end McCallan Castles, tight end Drake Dabney, linebacker Kristian Welch and receiver Michael Woods II to the practice squad and released offensive lineman Lecitus Smith from the practice squad.
Kraft’s season is over after eight games. He caught 32 passes for a team-high 469 yards and six receiving touchdowns before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers.
To build depth at tight end without Kraft, the Packers added Whyle, a 2023 fifth-round pick of the Tennessee Titans who has 27 games of regular season experience and who spent the first nine weeks on the Packers practice squad, to the 53-man roster. The team then backloaded the practice squad with Castles and Dabney, two undrafted free agents without regular season experience. Castles spent training camp with the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, while Dabney, a rookie, spent training camp with the Tennessee Titans.
The Packers also signed Mosby, a converted off-ball linebacker who can play defensive end in a pinch and has been a core special teamer during the last two seasons in Green Bay. He was elevated from the practice squad during each of the last three weeks and was out of elevations, so the Packers had to sign him to the roster to play him again this season.
Welch returned to the practice squad after spending Week 9 on the 53-man roster. He played 10 special teams snaps against the Panthers. The Packers released him on Monday, but Welch returned a day after.
Woods was a sixth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2022. He has 12 catches for 110 yards over 15 career NFL games. In 2023, Woods suffered a torn Achilles tendon and was also suspended for six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers announce 8 roster moves, including TE Tucker Kraft to IR
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
