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The Green Bay Packers suffered a brutal injury blow during their depressing Week 9 loss against the Carolina Panthers at home. After an impressive start to the 2025 NFL season, rising star tight end Tucker Kraft has been ruled out for the remainder of the year due to a torn ACL. Losing Kraft is a crushing loss for the Packers. He has become one of Jordan Love’s favorite weapons and has become one of the top tight ends in the NFL. Immediately following the injury news being confirmed about Kraft’s injury ending his season, the rumor mill started churning. Green Bay was almost instantly connected to a couple of different potential tight end trade targets. Read more: Report: Seahawks Acquire WR Rashid Shaheed From Saints With the trade deadline just hours away, it sounds like the Packers are indeed trying to trade for a tight end. Michael Mayer #87 of the Las Vegas Raiders stands on the field prior to an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans at Allegiant Stadium on October 12, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to Mitchell Renz, a reporter covering the Las Vegas Raiders, Green Bay is attempting to acquire Michael Mayer. He was one of the immediate names that came to mind as a possible target. “Can confirm – talked about this yesterday on the Raiders Report,” Renz wrote on X. “The Packers are trying to trade for Michael Mayer.” Mayer, who was a standout tight end for Notre Dame during his college days, was drafted by the Raiders with the No. 35 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Being a second round pick, Mayer had high expectations surrounding him when he entered the league. During his rookie season in 2023, he caught 27 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns. It didn’t take long for Las Vegas to head in a different direction at the tight end position. Brock Bowers was drafted with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That quickly led to Mayer being the backup tight end behind Bowers. Read more: Cowboys Connected to Trade for Star Safety Before Deadline So far this season in six games played, the 24-year-old Mayer has caught 15 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown. Should the Packers acquire Mayer, he would join forces with Luke Musgrave at the tight end position. Matt LaFleur likes using multiple tight ends. Mayer would have an immediate role within the Green Bay offense. At this point in time, there is no indication about how far the Packers are in trade discussions with Las Vegas. There is a chance that a trade will not materialize. However, they seem to be pursuing Mayer leading up to the deadline. For more on the Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, and general NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
