The Green Bay Packers hosted a group of tight ends for a workout to start training camp. It appears Thomas Yassmin has ascended to the top of the group. The team signed Yassmin to a contract before their first training camp practice. They released Dante Barnett as a corresponding move.
The move likely speaks to the injury issues that the team currently has at the position.
Green Bay Packers Signed Thomas Yassmin
Yassmin grew up playing rugby in Australia. He was new to the sport and did not play until he went to college at Utah. Yassmin redshirted his freshman year and was a minimal contributor through three college seasons. However, he started to catch on by his fourth year in 2022. He caught 13 passes for 295 yards, but made legitimate strides as a blocker.
In the following year, he only caught eight passes for 89 yards. That caused him to go undrafted in the NFL Draft. However, he was picked up by the Denver Broncos. He spent his first preseason there and his first year on the practice squad.
However, the team let him go in the offseason, and he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers. He stuck on the Chargers’ practice squad, but once again was cut during the offseason. Now, he’s looking to stick with the Packers.
Packers Have Injury Concerns At Tight End
The big reason the Packers signed him is their injury issues at the position. Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave are on the PUP list. Kraft tore his ACL last season but expects to be back healthy by Week 1. However, he is unlikely to play at all in the preseason and likely will not practice until a couple of weeks before the year starts.
Musgrave has had a long history of nagging injuries derailing his career. The team is likely adding Yassmin to protect themselves from any issues that might continue to occur for Musgrave. Beyond that, the Packers are not very deep after their top two options at tight end.
Josh Whyle has become a sleeper on the team, but the Tennessee Titans did release him last year before he signed with Green Bay. Drake Dabney was a UDFA who was picked up by the Titans as well before spending most of his rookie year on the Packers’ practice squad.
Messiah Swinson is a UDFA from 2024. He is starting to make some noise in OTAs, but that is likely because the top two options are down and somebody had to take the snaps. The team added RJ Maryland as a rookie UDFA. However, tight end takes a while to adjust to in the NFL, and Maryland has a track record of injury questions as well.
Lastly is Luke Lachey. Lachey was a seventh-round pick by the Houston Texans in 2025. However, they waived him after one season. Still, he has more draft pedigree than most of the other names in this room.
The addition of Yassmin highlights that the Packers tight end room is very thin entering training camp.
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