Green Bay Packers Lose Key 3rd Round Tight End to Injury

The Green Bay Packers do not have great tight end depth. Of course, 2023 NFL Draft picks Luke Musgrave and Tyler Kraft are expected to both play big roles in the offense this upcoming season. They are joined in the tight end room by just three other players: Josiah Deguara, Austin Allen, and Tyler Davis.

Unfortunately, that group of five has been temporarily cut down to four. On Tuesday of this week, Deguara, a third round pick in 2020, suffered a calf injury.

Green Bay Packers Tight End Josiah Deguara Cannot Practice on Thursday

Paul Bretl of PackersWire reported the injuring today in his column recapping some events during training camp:

“A versatile H-back type, Deguara is the most experienced tight end on the roster and has been running with the first-team offense throughout training camp. The Packers would suddenly be thin on depth and exceedingly inexperienced at tight end if Deguara has to miss significant time.”

It is interesting that Deguara has been been primarily used with the starters as many have assumed that Musgrave and Kraft will be the team’s top two tight ends. Then again, Matt LaFleur’s offense, without Aaron Rodgers, may utilize the H-back position more often. Of course, this would mean Deguara would get more playing time.

And perhaps it is high time that the under-utilized Deguara sees more of the field. After tearing his ACL in Week Two of his rookie season, Deguara has not missed a single game over the last two seasons. He has proven to be a reliable special teams contributor and is the best blocking tight end remaining on the Packers’ roster.

Furthermore, his advanced receiving stats show that he is a more-than-reliable target in the passing game when he has been utilized. In 2021, he had an impressive 75.8% catch percentage, which he somehow improved to 86.7% in 2022.

In 2021, Packers quarterbacks had a 103.7 passer rating when targeting Deguara, and a 98.3 passer rating when targeting him last year.

While not a traditional tight end, he does bring a facet to the offense that really no other player on the roster does. Hopefully the calf injury is nothing serious and he can get back out on the practice field soon.

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