The Green Bay Packers went through organized team activities and mandatory minicamp early this summer with several of their key starters sidelined by injury. That opened the door for some young players to get extra reps, including one standout on offense.

ESPN‘s Rob Demovsky named tight end Josh Whylie as a standout from Packers’ OTAs and minicamp, pointing to the young tight end as one of the positive surprises with Tucker Kraft still sidelined.

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“Tucker Kraft is TE1 and Luke Musgrave is still here. But a third tight end has emerged. Whyle took significant snaps with the starters this offseason after catching just five passes for 36 yards and a touchdown in eight games last season for the Packers, who signed him to their practice squad after Tennessee released him. “We can’t believe that the Titans would let a product like that go,” Kraft said. “And we’re fortunate to have him.” 

Rob Demovsky on Green Bay Packers tight end Josh Whyle

Whyle, heading into his age-27 season, spent the first two years of his career with the Tennessee Titans. A fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the -foot-7 tight end was cut by the Titans in late August 2025 and signed to the Packers’ practice squad a few days later. After a few weeks on the practice squad, he was elevated to the 53-man roster in November.

He appeared in eight games this past season, appearing in 176 offensive snaps with 51 coming on special teams. While he wasn’t much of a factor in the passing game—pulling down just 5 receptions for 36 receiving yards—he seemed to entrench himself on the roster heading into the offseason.

Tucker Kraft is expected to be cleared for Week 1 and the standout tight end is hopeful to not be on a pitch count. As for tight end Luke Musgrave, he has popped up in NFL trade rumors within the last year but it seemas as of now like Green Bay will keep him.

However, if Whyle continues to carry over his success into Packers’ training camp, then the decision at tight end could change. Green Bay could flip Musgrave to another team, making Whyle the No. 2 tight end with tight end Luke Lachey potentially making the team as more of an in-line blocker.

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Matt Johnson is Senior Editor of NFL and College Football for Sportsnaut. His work, including weekly NFL and college ... More about Matt Johnson