South Dakota State Professional Athletes

Tucker Kraft's Payday Is Coming — The Question Is When

The Green Bay Packers want Tucker Kraft locked up. The tight end wants to stay. So what's the holdup?

Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst made the team's position crystal clear this week, telling reporters: "We would love to have that done." According to Pro Football Talk, the Packers and Kraft have both maintained a mutual desire throughout the offseason and into training camp to get a contract extension across the finish line. That's the easy part. The harder part — settling on the numbers — is where things stand.

Kraft, a product of South Dakota State's tight end factory in Brookings, has emerged as one of the more promising young pass-catchers in the NFC North. The Packers selected him in the third round of the 2023 draft, and he's steadily grown into a featured role in Green Bay's offense. With Dallas Goedert — another SDSU alum — commanding top-of-market money in Philadelphia, Kraft has a clear ceiling to negotiate toward, even if the comparable isn't a perfect apples-to-apples match.

Gutekunst's public comments are notable in their own right. GMs don't typically volunteer enthusiasm about contract talks unless they're comfortable telegraphing commitment. For Jackrabbits fans, this is less a question of if and more a matter of when — and whether the deal lands before the regular season opener.

Oladokun Fighting for a Roster Spot in Kansas City

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Chris Oladokun is trying to carve out a future in the NFL's most demanding environment. The former SDSU quarterback is locked in a three-way battle for the backup QB role behind Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs, competing against veterans Justin Fields and Garrett Nussmeier.

Per FanSided's preseason grades through two games, the competition has gotten "fiery" — a tough room for any quarterback, let alone one still working to cement his place on an NFL roster. Oladokun has shown enough to remain in the conversation, but Fields brings name recognition and Nussmeier brings draft pedigree. The margin for error is essentially zero.

The Chiefs' preseason schedule continues to serve as the crucible. Oladokun's path to a 53-man roster spot likely runs through standout performances in the remaining preseason contests — the kind that force a front office's hand.

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Two very different situations, one common thread: SDSU alumni competing at football's highest level with meaningful stakes on the line. Kraft is playing for generational money; Oladokun is playing for a job. Both outcomes will be worth watching as the preseason window closes and rosters take their final shape.

South Dakota State sent a two-man statement to the NFL in the Chargers' preseason opener, as RB Amar Johnson and OL Jake Slaughter both turned heads in Los Angeles' 27-7 dismantling of the Houston Texans on August 13.

Amar Johnson Ignites a Backfield Battle

Johnson was the headliner. The SDSU product punched in two rushing touchdowns, injecting serious intrigue into what figures to be a competitive running back competition in Los Angeles. According to the LA Times, Johnson's performance put the Chargers' Mike McDaniel-guided running game on full display — and made the depth chart at RB considerably less settled heading into the rest of the preseason.

It wasn't a fluke showing in a garbage-time blowout, either. Johnson appeared among the Chargers' six standout performers from the game, per Yahoo Sports, putting his name firmly in the conversation for a meaningful roster role. For a player still fighting to cement his spot, two rushing scores in a preseason opener is about as strong a first impression as it gets.

Slaughter Solidifies the Blind Side

While Johnson grabbed the headlines, Slaughter was quietly making a case of his own. The offensive lineman — also a Jackrabbit alum — used the Texans game as his first real audition for the Chargers' starting left tackle job, and by most accounts he passed the test. The LA Times noted Slaughter "performs well" in the role, a meaningful review for a player competing for one of the most important assignments on the offensive line.

Strong early reviews at left tackle won't lock up a starting job in August, but they do change the nature of the conversation. Slaughter enters the next week of camp with momentum.

The Bigger Picture for SDSU

Two Jackrabbits on the same NFL roster is notable enough. Two Jackrabbits standing out on the same night — one sparking a backfield competition, the other auditioning for a starting spot on the blind side — is a genuine program moment.

Elsewhere in the league, SDSU's Chris Oladokun remains in the mix at quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, where Yahoo Sports notes he and rookie Garrett Nussmeier are generating real intrigue at the QB3 spot heading into the Chiefs' preseason schedule.

Two South Dakota State alumni are navigating pivotal stretches in NFL training camps — one fighting to reclaim his role after a serious injury, the other sitting on untapped leverage he may be leaving on the table.

Tucker Kraft: Comeback Meets Contract Question

Tucker Kraft's return from a torn ACL is officially underway. The Packers tight end — who suffered the injury on November 2 — rode a bike to the practice field for the first time since going down, and head coach Matt LaFleur indicated Kraft could participate in joint practices with the Cardinals. For a player who missed the back half of a season in which he was emerging as one of the more reliable receiving tight ends in the NFC, even getting on the field is a milestone worth noting.

But the health storyline only tells half the story. According to FanSided, Kraft is walking into training camp with significant contract leverage over Green Bay — and choosing not to use it. Kraft is still on a rookie deal that leaves him underpaid relative to the production and role he's grown into. The Packers, meanwhile, are heavily invested in him as the centerpiece of their passing game at the position. That's a negotiating posture most players would exploit. Kraft hasn't. Whether that's team-first loyalty, agent miscalculation, or a deliberate play to prove health before demanding a raise, the result is the same: Green Bay is getting a bargain, and Kraft is absorbing all the risk himself.

If the ACL recovery goes smoothly and Kraft returns to form, he'll have cashed in none of that leverage and entered a new season on the same below-market terms. If the knee doesn't hold, the Packers hold all the cards. It's a gamble Green Bay didn't have to ask him to take.

Isaiah Davis: Knee Injury Clouds Jets Camp

In New York, Isaiah Davis is dealing with his own knee trouble — though the circumstances are far less severe. Jets head coach Aaron Glenn confirmed Thursday that the running back will miss "a couple weeks" with the injury, sidetracking what was expected to be an important training camp for Davis as he looks to carve out a more prominent role in the Jets' backfield.

A couple of weeks in camp isn't a death sentence for a roster spot, but for a player who needs reps to prove himself on a depth chart that isn't guaranteed, time is a finite resource. Every practice missed is a missed opportunity to build chemistry with a new coaching staff and separate from competitors at the position.

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Two Jackrabbits, two knee stories, two uncertain paths to September. Kraft's situation carries more weight — the leverage angle alone makes it one of the more quietly fascinating contract dynamics in the NFC — but Davis's timeline bears watching as the Jets' final roster decisions come into focus. South Dakota State fans have plenty to track over the next few weeks.