Green Bay Reporter

With him back in the fold, the Green Bay Packers are now hoping to have veteran tight end Robert Tonyan back on the field sooner than what was once imagined.

PackersWire.com reports team officials now see Tonyan as being ahead of schedule in recovering from the ACL injury he suffered at the end of last season and could be back on the field early in the 2022 season.

“You can tell he’s been working hard,” said Coach Matt LaFleur, according to PackersWire. “I know he’ll come back, I don’t foresee him being any different physically; I think he’ll be ready to go. Like what we talked about, I think there’s still a lot of room for growth in his game.”

Even with the injury, Tonyan attracted attention from several teams before the Packers inked him to his new one-year, $3.75 million deal. With bonuses, the deal could be worth up to $5.5 million.

“The way he works, how intelligent he is, that’s great for us,” LaFleur said. “Certainly, he’s got a rapport with Aaron (Rodgers), which is a big deal as well. Just excited to have him back on our team.”

As MVP quarterback Rodgers’ favorite tight end target last season, Tonyan caught 18 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns before suffering his season-ending injury against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 28. In 2020, Tonyan snared a franchise tight end record-tying 11 touchdowns.

With the team having lost All-Pro receiver Davante Adams over the offseason along with sidekick Marquez Valdes-Scantling, General Manager Brian Gutekunst is also happy to have Tonyan back and can’t wait to have him back in uniform.

“Bobby is doing great,” he said. “I don’t think we have a real timetable on that, but I just know he’s ahead of schedule. We won’t close the door on anything early, if it’s possible. But at the same time, you guys know how important he’s going to be to our offense, so we’ll be cautious as we go through that, make sure he’s available for the whole year.”