Bend native and new Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave will make his rookie regular season debut in the Windy City.
The NFL released its full 2023 schedule Thursday. Musgrave — a product of Bend High School and the Oregon State Beavers — and the Packers will head to Chicago to face the Bears on Sept. 10.
The Packers have five primetime games scheduled.
- Sept. 28 vs. Lions (Thursday Night)
- Oct. 9 at Las Vegas (Monday Night)
- Dec. 3 vs. Kansas City (Sunday Night)
- Dec. 11 at N.Y Giants (Monday Night)
- Dec. 31 at Minnesota (Sunday Night)
And Musgrave will have a chance to win a piece of postgame turkey on Thanksgiving as the Packers head to Detroit to face the Lions.
The season will end the way it starts, with Green Bay hosting the Bears in Week 18. Since the NFL is now scheduling some Saturday games on that final week depending upon playoff scenarios, the date is yet to be set.
Before all that, of course, there is preseason. Musgrave will take the field for the first time when the Packers play the Cincinnati Bengals in exhibition play.
Green Bay chose Musgrave with the 42nd overall selection in the NFL Draft, a pick they acquired in the trade that sent four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets.
The Packers are taking a chance on the upside of Musgrave, who was slowed by injuries during his college career. Musgrave had just 47 catches for 633 yards and two touchdowns in his college career, but he showed enough promise in limited action to get regarded as a likely second-day draft pick.
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He had 11 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown in Oregon State’s first two games last season before a knee injury knocked him out for the rest of the year.
Musgrave is the nephew of former NFL quarterback Bill Musgrave.
Tight end is a major area of concern for the Packers.
Robert Tonyan, who had 53 catches for 470 yards to lead Packers tight ends last season, is now with the Chicago Bears. Veteran Marcedes Lewis, who had the second-highest snap total among Packers tight ends, is a free agent.
The Packers’ top returning tight ends are Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis, who combined to catch 17 passes for 140 yards last season. Green Bay had taken Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness in the first round Thursday with the draft’s 13th overall pick.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
