Packers Make Big Addition to Offense Against Saints

Sidelined since Week 4 by an ankle injury, tight end Luke Musgrave will return to the lineup on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints.

Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave (88) catches a pass against the Saints last season. / Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK

GREEN BAY, Wis. – As expected, Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave will return to the lineup for Monday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints.

Also, with safety Javon Bullard (ankle) out and safety Evan Williams (quad) questionable, the team elevated Omar Brown from the practice squad.

The return of Musgrave essentially means Green Bay’s offense will be at full strength entering the final three games of the regular season.

Musgrave suffered an ankle injury during the team’s Week 4 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Unable to play through the injury, he had surgery to repair ligament damage a week-and-a-half later and was placed on injured reserve.

The Packers designated him for return on Dec. 11. He fills the vacant 53rd spot on the roster.

“I think our timeline was set aggressively but do-ably,” Musgrave said on Friday, “and the thought was to be back for the latter few games of the season.”

Musgrave, a second-round pick last year, had an impact rookie season. Even while missing six games following a lacerated kidney, he tied Bubba Franks’ franchise rookie tight ends record with 34 receptions.

In the playoffs, he caught six passes for 66 yards and one touchdown.

Tucker Kraft had supplanted Musgrave as the team’s No. 1 tight end during training camp. That won’t change with Musgrave. But the addition of Musgrave will open new avenues on offense.

“I can play hard and I’ll do whatever plays they want me to do,” Musgrave said.

“I’ll do whatever plays they have for me. If that’s blocking, if that’s route-running, if that’s whatever. Whatever they have me doing, I’ll do.”

Musgrave focused on individual drills during his first week of practice. During the portions of practice open to reporters, he worked on his blocking while the other tight ends ran routes.

“There’s different portions of things that we do, and running and doing that kind of stuff, those are the things that are maybe a little bit more natural that you do in your rehab process,” tight ends coach John Dunn explained this week. “Blocking and those types of things are a little different. Just trying to incorporate a little different movements as he gets back and build on things and build on days, just kind of seeing where he’s at.”

This week, he was integrated into 11-on-11 work.

It was the final step before returning to the lineup.

“First time I got to share a huddle with him today, shook his hand and I said, ‘Hey, there, how you doing?’” Kraft said on Friday. “It’s great to see the progress he’s made in his injury coming back from that. Having an ankle injury in the past, I know what it’s like to get back to blocking again, cutting on that ankle, trusting it, just really proud of him. He’s done it the hard way. It’s not easy to be injured.”

During the first four games of the season, Musgrave averaged 27 snaps per game. During his absence, Ben Sims averaged 19 snaps per game.

“We got him out there in team and he looked good,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “He was running around. Kind of the big thing is just to see how he can do blocking and changing direction and things like that. But his linear speed looked good. He made some plays down the field running. Yeah, we’ll see. It’s just a day-to-day thing and we’ll see if we can get him out there on Monday.”

Musgrave was one of the most athletic tight ends in the 2023 draft class. With quarterback Jordan Love, the Packers love to stretch the field, so he’d add another talented target.

“Obviously, another vertical at a different position that I think can really stretch the field,” Stenavich said. Obviously blocking. He does a good job blocking.”

Musgrave said the hardest part of the come back was regaining his change-of-direction agility. He’s battling soreness yet but he’s done enough to add another talented player to one of the hottest offenses in the NFL.

“Definitely been challenged (mentally),” he said. “Injuries are a hard part of the game – the worst part of the game – but I think you’ve just got to stick them out, find little victories. For me it’s just little victories in the rehab. We’re all competitors, so if you find little victories in the rehab, that gets you through it.”

Latest Green Bay Packers News 

Here are three reasons why the #Packers will beat the Saints today, starting with the most simplistic thing imaginable.

It's Jordan Love vs. Spencer Rattler. ⬇️https://t.co/rgxlpbG55Z

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) December 23, 2024

Three reasons why Packers will beat Saints | Three reasons why Packers will lose to Saints | Updated NFC playoff race | Injuries derail Jordan Morgan, MarShawn Lloyd | Saints bracing for Packers, Mother Nature | Frosty’s dad emerges as potential star | Packers-Saints final injury report | Packers vs. backup quarterbacks | Packers-Saints: Five keys | How rare is this Packers-Saints point spread? | Luke Musgrave potentially returning | NFC North power rankings and previews | Packers-Saints game preview | He’s “almost like Wolverine” | He is the Packers’ No. 1 receiver | Packers-Saints: Matchups | Packers-Saints: TV, history, trends, notes | Edgerrin Cooper makes Player of the Week history