The Packers made two roster moves: TE Luke Musgrave to injured reserve, and TE John FitzPatrick was signed off the Falcons practice squad.
The two roster moves expected to happen arrived on Friday afternoon. The Green Bay Packers placed tight end Luke Musgrave on injured reserve, which opened a roster spot for the signing of tight end John FitzPatrick off the practice squad of the Atlanta Falcons.
Musgrave is dealing with a serious ankle injury and will miss at least the next four games. He practiced Wednesday but was then shut down as the Packers better understood the severity of his injury. Musgrave won’t be eligible to come off injured reserve until after the team’s Week 10 bye.
In need of depth at tight end after losing Musgrave, the Packers signed FitzPatrick, a draft pick of the Falcons who had a “30” visit to Green Bay before the 2022 draft. The former Georgia Bulldog is 6-7 and 262 pounds, giving him potential as in-line run-blocker.
Coach Matt LaFleur didn’t think FitzPatrick would be able to help the Packers right away, noting the “tall task” of playing after arriving late in the week. He also said Falcons coach Raheem Morris told him they were “upset to lose” FitzPatrick.
“He has the size and skill set you look for,” LaFleur said.
The Packers also have Ben Sims at tight end. Starter Tucker Kraft, who has 10 catches and three touchdowns over the last two games, is off the injury report and good to go for Sunday after suffering a groin injury mid-week.
Musgrave, who lacerated his kidney and missed six games last season, has been on injured reserve each of his first two NFL seasons. He also missed multiple games during his sophomore and senior seasons at Oregon State.
Packers TE Luke Musgrave is headed to injured reserve with a serious ankle injury.
Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said tight end Luke Musgrave has a “serious” ankle injury and is “more than likely” headed to injured reserve, although the team is hopeful Musgrave will return this season.
“He’s been dealing with something and fighting through, so he’s going to be down for some time,” LaFleur said Thursday.
Musgrave didn’t practice last week but was active as an emergency option at tight end against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. He then practiced Wednesday in a limited capacity before missing Thursday’s practice.
LaFleur said Musgrave’s ability to fight through the significant injury speaks to his “toughness” and “competitiveness,” but he also admitted the Packers didn’t initially know the severity of the ankle injury.
“I don’t think we understood how serious it was,” LaFleur said.
LaFleur said “the hope” is that Musgrave returns and plays again this season.
Over four games, Musgrave caught five passes.
This will be the second time on injured reserve in two seasons for Musgrave. He suffered a lacerated kidney in November of last year and missed six games.
Without Musgrave, the Packers will move forward with Tucker Kraft and Ben Sims at tight end. Kraft looks like a blossoming star. LaFleur said Sims has “done a nice job” in his role, and he thinks he can make plays in the passing game while also contributing as an inline blocker.
“Bigger, wide body. I heard he’s a great guy. We’re excited to have him here,” LaFleur said.
Going on injured reserve will require Musgrave, a 2023 second-round pick, to miss at least four games, although it sounds like his absence will be longer than a month.
Packers TE Luke Musgrave wasn’t available for practice on Thursday.
The ankle injury for Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave might have worsened. After getting in a limited practice on Wednesday, Musgrave was not participating during Thursday’s practice, per Mike Spofford of the team’s official site.
Musgrave didn’t practice last week but was active as an emergency option last week against the Los Angeles Rams. He did not play a snap in the game.
It’s possible Musgrave aggravated the injury during Wednesday’s practice. Or the injury isn’t responding to on-field movement and Musgrave needed the day off Thursday. Either way, Musgrave’s absence Thursday — combined with his uncertain availability for Sunday’s visit from the Arizona Cardinals — likely contributed to the Packers signing tight end John FitzPatrick off the practice squad of the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday.
The Packers need to clear a roster spot to add FitzPatrick, so injured reserve could be a possibility for Musgrave. If he lands on injured reserve, he’ll need to miss the next four games before he’s eligible to return.
Musgrave, a second-round pick in the 2023 draft, has five catches for 22 yards in four games this season. His longest catch is only six yards.
After playing 66 percent of offensive snaps in 11 games last season, Musgrave has been on the field for only 39 percent of snaps to start the 2024 season. The big reason? The emergence of Tucker Kraft, who can block and catch and looks like one of the next great young tight ends in the NFL.
Packers TE Luke Musgrave is questionable to play against the Rams due to an ankle injury.
Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave didn’t practice all week due to a new ankle injury, but the second-year pass-catcher is expected to test out the ankle pre-game on Sunday in hopes of playing against the Los Angeles Rams, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Even if Musgrave is available, he is expected to be limited, per Schefter.
Musgrave, a second-round pick in 2023, didn’t practice on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday this week but was given a questionable listing on the final injury report.
In four games to start the 2024 season, Musgrave has only five catches on seven targets for 22 yards. His average depth of target is only 6.1 yards, per PFF.
Last season, Musgrave caught his first career touchdown pass in a win over the Rams at Lambeau Field. He finished with three catches for 51 yards, which was, at the time, a career high.
Musgrave has taken a backseat to Tucker Kraft at tight end to start this season. He has been on the field for only 108 snaps, or roughly 39 percent of the offense’s snaps. Kraft has played 227 snaps.
The Packers have Ben Sims as a backup at tight end, and Andrew Beck — a veteran fullback — could play snaps as a move blocker for Matt LaFleur if Musgrave isn’t available.
Musgrave is one of seven players listed as questionable for Sunday. Cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Carrington Valentine, offensive linemen Elgton Jenkins and Jordan Morgan and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper are also questionable, and defensive lineman Jonathan Ford — who was designated for return from injured reserve — is questionable on the injury report but won’t play.
Packers TE Luke Musgrave had an “up and down” training camp but still flashed “special” stuff to start Year 2.
Across an NFL landscape where every team wants to find their version of Travis Kelce or George Kittle, the Green Bay Packers believe they have a budding star at tight end in Luke Musgrave. A second-round pick in 2023, there’s no denying that Musgrave flashed tremendous upside as a rookie, but the team now needs him to take the next step.
First and foremost, Musgrave will need to stay healthy. He missed six games last season due to a kidney laceration. The injury came at an unfortunate time for Musgrave, as he was starting to gain his footing in the offense. After missing some valuable time, Musgrave returned to the lineup for the regular season finale to cap off a productive rookie season of 34 receptions for 352 yards and a touchdown in 11 games.
Despite not being fully healthy, Musgrave showed flashes of what we saw pre-injury, putting together a strong postseason performance in Green Bay’s 48-32 win over the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round. In just 15 snaps, Musgrave hauled in three catches for 52 yards, including a beautifully schemed 38-yard touchdown.
Though the Packers’ season ended prematurely the following week at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers, they saw enough out of Musgrave to be excited about what he can do in the offense moving forward. Green Bay hasn’t had a tight end with Musgrave’s size and speed since Jermichael Finely, a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses during his heyday.
Entering Year 2, the expectation is for Musgrave’s role within the offense to expand. However, on Thursday, when asked about what he saw from Musgrave during this year’s training camp, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich gave an honest answer about his performance, recognizing his progress and the work that still needs to be done.
“It was up and down,” Stenavich said Thursday. “I thought he made a lot of good strides in the pass game. There’s still some stuff I’d like to see him work on, but I’m excited to see him play. He flashed some really special things out there at times. Yeah, I’m excited to go out there and watch him compete.”
With Green Bay resting most of its starters during the preseason, Musgrave played seven offensive snaps and did not log a single target. As a result, practice provided the best indicator of where Musgrave stands in his development. While he certainly had his moments out on Ray Nitschke Field this summer, moments of brilliance were few and far between.
A quiet camp and preseason may not mean a whole lot for Musgrave, who is a popular pick for the Packers as a potential breakout player. As Stenavich noted, he still has room to improve.
Loaded with talent at wide receiver and tight end, Green Bay aims to be one of the NFL’s top offenses in 2024. Growth from Musgrave could be a crucial factor in achieving that goal. If he hits the ground running this season, don’t be surprised if he eventually emerges as one of the league’s top tight ends.
Both TE Luke Musgrave and DL Karl Brooks made PFF’s 2024 All-Breakout Team.
Two picks from the Green Bay Packers’ 2023 draft class were highlighted by Pro Football Focus as top breakout candidates at their respective positions entering the 2024 season.
Gordon McGuiness of PFF recently put together his 2024 All-Breakout Team, and tight end Luke Musgrave and defensive lineman Karl Brooks both made the list.
Musgrave and Brooks both showed they can be difference makers. To make the leap as second-year players, the pair will need to go from flashy rookie to consistent producers as sophomores.
Musgrave’s solid rookie season got derailed by a significant kidney injury suffered in early November. He returned late in the season and caught a touchdown pass in the Packers’ upset playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys. Including the postseason, Musgrave caught 40 passes for 418 yards and two scores over 53 targets and 13 games.
McGuiness on Musgrave: “You could make the case here for either second-year Packers tight end. Musgrave dropped just one of the 41 catchable passes thrown his way in 2023 and finished his rookie season with three straight 70.0-plus PFF receiving grades.”
Brooks, a sixth-round pick out of Bowling Green, produced 30 pressures on 309 pass-rushing snaps, including the postseason. He had multiple pressures in 10 games, including five in the Packers’ Thanksgiving win over the Detroit Lions, four in the divisional round loss in San Francisco and three in the Week 18 victory over the Chicago Bears.
McGuiness on Brooks: “If there is a question about Brooks’ play heading into his second NFL season, it’s whether he can be a full-time player or if he is simply more of a pass-rushing specialist. However, with how good he was in that role as a rookie, that may not matter. He had seven games in 2023 with a PFF pass-rushing grade above 70.0.”
Musgrave, a 6-6 tight end with elite speed, is going to be a go-to target in the Packers passing game. Brooks, a quick and skilled interior rusher, should get even more chances to be a disruptor in the new 4-3 base defense.
Here are three sleepers to target at the tight end position in fantasy football for the 2024 season.
With summer break just around the corner, fantasy football managers will be thrust into drafts before they even know it.
Finding sleepers is the name of the game when it comes to overachieving in fantasy football, and it’s never too early to start looking for those potential game-changers.
The tight end position is a tricky beast to understand. For most leagues, the elite tight ends truly make a difference. Going into 2024, there’s a bucket of four tight ends who could likely be considered elite options.
That would be Travis Kelce, Sam LaPorta, Mark Andrews and Trey McBride. The rest of the position is mostly a crapshoot where managers are hoping for some respectable yardage and some touchdown receptions here and there.
But finding a tight end sleeper can make a difference. Those who drafted LaPorta or McBride late in 2023 were rewarded with a high-end starter nearly every week. Their tight end position went from an unknown to a game-changer.
Here’s a look at three tight end sleepers to keep an eye on going into the 2024 season:
What are the ingredients of a breakout player? Talent, potential and opportunity. Musgrave, who was threatening the Packers’ rookie record for receptions by a tight end before suffering a kidney injury in 2023, checks all the boxes as a second-round pick entering Year 2 as a primary target in a top offense.
From PFF’s Bradley Locker on Musgrave: “It’s hard not to be extremely excited about the Packers’ boatload of young receiving options, and Musgrave is verifiably part of that. He played in just 13 games because of a lacerated kidney, but he was elite at the end of 2023: his 91.9 receiving grade between Week 18 and the divisional round led all tight ends. Musgrave is a player to buy stock in entering 2024.”
Musgrave, the 42nd pick in the 2023 draft, caught 34 passes for 352 yards and a touchdown over 11 games as a rookie. He added six catches and a touchdown in the postseason.
Big and athletic, Musgrave could emerge as a legitimate pass-catching weapon for LaFleur and Jordan Love in 2024. Tight ends often need time to develop at the NFL level, and Musgrave got a crash course as a first-year starter in 2023.
Musgrave will be competing for snaps with Tucker Kraft, who ended his own rookie season with a surge. And the Packers are not lacking for mouths to feed in the passing game entering 2024.
But Musgrave’s breakout candidacy has a lot to offer: He’s as long and fast as any tight end in football, and he’ll be playing with an ascending starting quarterback in an offensive scheme with a long and established history of getting players open.
Tom’s breakout season included becoming a rock-solid right tackle in 2023. If Musgrave can stay healthy and take a similar leap, there’s no reason why he can’t catch 60 or more passes and be a consistent big-play threat and touchdown scorer for the Packers in 2024.
Don’t confuse the Packers’ youth for weakness. The Green Bay Packers are a confident team that is ready for any obstacle.
Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle had one of the most quotable NFL Films sound bites of all time when he yelled, “Regulators, mount up!” quoting Emilio Estevez’s Billy the Kid.
Funny enough, though, it is the hated Green Bay Packers who are the NFL’s young guns, and their sharp-shooting quarterback has them within one more shootout of getting to the NFC Championship Game.
With an average of 25.7 years of age, the Packers have the youngest roster in the NFL, but that hasn’t fazed them in the slightest. Since Week 12, their offense is second in the league in EPA per play, trailing only the San Francisco 49ers. They are also third in success rate in that time frame, and their young leader has emerged as one of the best gunslingers in the NFL.
In the final seven weeks of the season, Jordan Love was second in the NFL in EPA per dropback, and he led the NFL in CPOE. Love also finished sixth in the NFL in DYAR and DVOA (min. 200 attempts). The Utah State product has been one of the best deep ball passers this year as well, finishing fifth in deep-ball completions and third in yards off deep balls.
Love’s emergence as one of the most complete passers in the game has been the silver bullet in the revolver for the Packers’ group of youthful playmakers. Jayden Reed caught 64 passes and eight touchdowns. Romeo Doubs matched Reed’s eight touchdown catches. Dontayvion Wicks had north of 500 yards. Both Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave became vital parts of the intermediate passing game as well, averaging over 10 yards per catch apiece. And don’t forget about Christian Watson, who missed time with injury but averaged 15 yards per reception in the nine regular-season games he played. Every one of the Packers’ top six receivers is a rookie or in his second season — that is unheard of in terms of a team that just won a playoff game. This isn’t a group that has shaky hands when it comes time to pull the trigger; this is a motley crew of young, confident desperados who just kicked in the doors of the corral, took what they wanted and knew that there was nothing their opponents could do about it.
Now the Packers are reaching the climax of their cinematic season. They face an absolute wagon of a 49ers team that will look to exploit their 27th-ranked defense in terms of DVOA. The Packers defense hasn’t been good when it comes to early-down pass defense, and the 49ers lead the NFL in empty formations on first down, doing so 6 percent of the time. Green Bay’s defense was 26th in yards allowed per drive; the 49ers’ offense led the NFL in yards per drive.
San Francisco will look to kill the Packers with a thousand cuts. Green Bay’s defense played phenomenally against Dallas in the wild-card round, but there is a large difference between playing a Mike McCarthy offense and a Kyle Shanahan offense. The 49ers painted those end zones red, they’re going to be well rested, and they will be out to make an example of Brown County Regulators.
Metaphorically, the Packers are already pinned down and surrounded, ready to make their final stand with all odds against them. That said, this team has shown all season that they aren’t afraid of the moment. They aren’t afraid of the 49ers riding in on their white steeds ready to hold down their fort. Will they come out victorious? No one seems to like their odds. But win or lose, this iteration of the Green Bay Packers, and the young guns who lead them, are going down swinging, guns up in a blaze of glory.
Breaking down Luke Musgrave’s dagger touchdown vs. the Cowboys. How did the rookie TE get so open? Matt LaFleur combined two Bear-killers from Week 1 to knock out the Cowboys.
One of the easiest — and most beautifully-designed — touchdowns of the Green Bay Packers’ 2023 season came Sunday night at AT&T Stadium. Quarterback Jordan Love connected with tight end Luke Musgrave — who had no defender within 15 yards of him — for what ended up being a 38-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter of the Packers’ 48-32 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
So, how did Musgrave get so incredibly wide open?
The Packers ran a clever version of “Y Leak,” a play gaining popularity in the LaFleur/Shanahan systems. The genius of the play call from Sunday is all the deception built into design.
Put simply, LaFleur combined two Bear-killers from Week 1 to dagger the Cowboys.
The Packers hit Y Leak in the season opener. Musgrave was wide open, made the catch but stumbled down before he could score at Soldier Field in Chicago. LaFleur dialed it up again Sunday but with some subtle but important changes.
First, here are the All-22 angles of the play:
The first deception: the run fake. The Packers were gashing the Cowboys on the ground. On the two previous plays, Aaron Jones ripped off runs of 10 yards and 27 yards, so the Cowboys brought a safety down into the box. The Packers countered by faking a split zone run with the offensive line crashing right and Tucker Kraft coming across the formation from the right to left to kick out the backside and simulate the look. The fake worked; all three of the Cowboys’ second level defenders take multiple steps downhill as if playing the run, and all three lose track of Musgrave almost immediately because of the threat of the run play to the right and the rollout to the left.
The next deception: The fake throwback pass. Another call back to Week 1. In Chicago, the Packers got an explosive gain out of Jones on a designed throwback pass off a run and rollout action. The Packers simulated that look here, with Jones peeling off to the right and looking back for the ball with blockers in front.
This is the point of perfection in the play design. Instead of one of the linebackers finding and trailing Musgrave, the lone defender to the playside of the field crashes downhill in an attempt to cover Jones on the throwback. The other two have eyes on Love’s rollout and are caught in no man’s land.
The play design also occupied the single-high safety. Bo Melton, the single receiver to the offense’s left, ran a deep corner. Christian Watson, aligned to the right, ran a deep crosser from right to left. The corner trailed Watson, and the single-high safety helped over the top on Melton.
Musgrave’s job was simple: Slow play his release from the line of scrimmage and then “leak” out to the backside of the play. The play is called “Y Leak” because Musgrave is lined up in the “Y” tight end position attached to the line of scrimmage.
By the time Love throws the football, there is not a single coverage player on Musgrave’s half of the field. In fact, both corners and the safety are on the opposite hash.
It was elementary from there. Love was able to fade away and throw the easiest pass of his life to Musgrave, who had over 15 yards of separation from his nearest defender when he made the catch at the 14-yard line. After composing himself at the catch point, Musgrave turned up field and rather easily scored.
Dagger. With the Cowboys on the ropes, LaFleur took his two best play designs from a Week 1 win over the Bears and combined them to throw the knockout punch. The Packers took a 41-16 lead on the easiest touchdown of the season and cruised into the NFC Divisional Round.
