The Green Bay Packers waived tight end Luke Lachey due to injury during the first week of August. On Wednesday, the team waived the tight end from injured reserve.
The NFL transaction wire confirmed the injury settlement. The transaction will officially end Lachey’s time with the Packers.
Green Bay claimed Lachey off waivers from the Houston Texans in May. The team waived him days later and then signed the tight end again at the end of offseason workouts in June.
Lachey suffered a serious injury early in training camp.
In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Texans selected Lachey at No. 255 overall in the seventh round. But he didn’t make the team’s roster as a rookie last August.
But the Texans signed Lachey to their practice squad where he spent all of 2025. He then signed a reserve/futures deal with Houston in January after the team’s playoff exit.
Lachey didn’t make an appearance in an NFL regular season game during his rookie campaign.
Packers Waive TE Luke Lachey From Injured Reserve
GettyThe Green Bay Packers waived tight end Luke Lachey from injured reserve with an injury settlement.
Lachey appeared to have a shot at a tight end depth role in Green Bay this season. That definitely won’t happen now, though, with the former Iowa tight end injured.
With the injury settlement, Lachey is eligible to sign with a new team when healthy. But it won’t be with the Packers.
During the 2025 draft process, pundits casted doubt over Lachey making a roster. In the tight end, though, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein saw a versatile prospect with a shot at a role.
“Combination tight end capable of lining up in-line or as a move tight end,” wrote Zierlein. “While Lachey can do both, he lacks the core strength and consistency of a typical ‘Y’ tight end and has average quickness to escape man coverage on the next level.
“He has NFL size but needs to prove he can more consistently sustain as a run blocker in order to become a trustworthy, three-down player in the league. Unless that happens, he’s likely to be fighting for a role as a TE3 or TE4.”
In 42 games at Iowa, Lachey posted 74 receptions, 893 receiving yards and four touchdowns. As a senior during 2024, he registered 28 catches with 231 receiving yards.
Green Bay TE Depth Entering 2026 Preseason
GettyHead coach Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers waived tight end Luke Lachey from injured reserve Wednesday.
The Packers were still uncertain about Tucker Kraft’s status when they added Lachey a second time in June. Kraft, though, has returned healthy during training camp.
Green Bay also has veteran Luke Musgrave coming back.
So, the Packers are in a decent spot at tight end. The rest of the group is competing for the TE3 and/or TE4 roles.
Overall, Green Bay possesses six tight ends on its training camp roster — Kraft, Musgrove, McCallan Castles, Drake Dabney, Messiah Swinson and Josh Whyle.
The Packers will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 of the preseason. Kickoff will occur at 7 pm ET on Thursday.
Castles, Dabney, Swinson and Whyle will surely play to compete for more playing time the rest of the preseason.
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