Luke Musgrave’s neck injury has opened a lane for someone else in Green Bay’s tight end room, and Luke Lachey is the name worth watching.
Musgrave is set to start 2026 training camp on the PUP list after coming off the first full season of his career, and there’s no clear timetable for his return. That’s a tough break for Musgrave and the Packers, but it also shifts the spotlight to a group that now has a chance to sort itself out without its top option on the field.
Lachey is in position to benefit most. On the Packers’ 91-man roster, he looks like the favorite to grab the fourth tight end job.
The former 255th pick in last year’s draft spent the 2025 season on the Houston Texans’ practice squad before being waived this offseason. His college production at Iowa peaked in 2022, when he posted 28 catches for 398 receiving yards and four touchdowns over a five-year career.
What makes Lachey interesting is the blend of traits. He brings receiving ability, but he also has the size to handle blocking work, which gives him an edge over a more one-dimensional pass-catcher like RJ Maryland.
The timing helps too. With Musgrave sidelined and Tucker Kraft limited, Lachey and Josh Whyle, the Packers’ projected TE3, are going to get the first real chance to take control of the summer.
Musgrave still matters when he’s healthy, but with his injury history and pending free agency, Green Bay has to keep looking at other long-term answers. That only boosts the value of any tight end who can carve out a role now.
There’s a little twist in the story, too: Lachey originally failed his Packers physical because of a hamstring issue before later getting cleared to sign. Now that he’s healthy, he’ll have a bigger stage than expected to show he belongs on the 53-man roster.
At 6-foot-6 and 247 pounds, Lachey has the frame Green Bay wants, though he could still use more bulk and cleaner technique if he’s going to be a true dual-threat tight end. His 2025 prospect notes described him as having an “adequate build and length,” and the Packers should have enough to work with if he can sharpen the rest.
For now, the door is open. With more reps coming his way in camp, Lachey has a real chance to turn a depth opportunity into something more.
In Other News...
Matthew Golden May Have Found The Fastest Way Into LaFleurs Trust
Matthew Golden is trying to turn a promising offseason into a real jump in Year 2, and for the Packers, the early signs go beyond the box score. After a rookie season that ended without a regular-season touchdown, the second-year receiver has drawn notice from Matt LaFleur for the less glamorous parts of the job, especially his blocking and his work away from the ball.
That kind of attention tends to matter in Green Bay, where trust in the offense is built on more than catches and yardage. Golden did finish last season with 361 receiving yards across 14 games and found the end zone in a playoff loss, but the bigger question now is whether those incremental gains are enough to earn a larger role when the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Are Taking A Different Defensive Bet Than The Rest Of The NFL
Around the league, last seasons defensive trend leaned toward smaller looks, with teams like the L.A. Rams and Seattle Seahawks finding ways to make lighter packages work. Green Bay has gone the other direction in its own search for answers, choosing not to simply add more defensive backs when the passing game demands it.
Instead, the Packers are exploring a different kind of flexibility by moving bigger edge players inside and keeping key linebackers on the field. The idea is to widen the pass-rush options without sacrificing size and physicality, a bet that reflects a different view of how to disrupt offenses in todays NFL. [Read more 🡒]
Keisean Nixon Repeats Himself Three Times On Contract Talks
Keisean Nixon spent his first training camp media session doing what players often do when the business side starts to creep into football season: he punted. The Packers cornerback repeatedly steered questions about his contract to his agent and general manager, making it clear he wanted the focus to stay on the field as Green Bay gets rolling under a new defensive coordinator. Entering the final year of his three-year deal, Nixon is more interested in showing he can keep building than in turning camp into a negotiation.
Nixon also cleared up one point that might have fueled the speculation. His absence from the first practice had nothing to do with contract tension, he said, but rather hamstring tightness, and he was back on the field the next day. For the Packers, that keeps the situation in the usual summer holding pattern for now, with Nixon working through camp and the front office left to sort out the rest whenever the time comes. [Read more 🡒]