David Bakhtiari’s tenure with the Green Bay Packers seems to be coming to an end. The left tackle, a three-time Pro Bowler and member of five All-Pro teams (three Second Team All-Pros and two First Team All-Pros), has missed much of the last three seasons with knee issues. Take note that word is the plural of “injury.”
On December 31, 2020, during a non-contact workout, Bakhtiari suffered his first injury to his knee. A ruptured ACL prevented him from playing the whole 2021 season, with the exception of a few snaps during the season finale versus the Detroit Lions. He did not participate in any of Green Bay’s playoff games that season, even though he came back for that one.
To help protect his knee, Bakhtiari participated in 11 of the 17 games in 2022. More details about the reasons behind his prolonged recuperation were revealed in the run-up to and during the season. After his ACL was repaired, Bakhtiari needed multiple further surgeries to remove excess fluid.
Bakhtiari performed admirably in the Packers’ season opener against the Chicago Bears this past season. Regretfully, he had another injury to his knee that needed to be fixed by multiple procedures. He was out for the rest of the year. It now seems likely that his final game wearing a Packers uniform will be against Chicago.
LT David Bakhtiari, the Green Bay Packer with the longest tenure, is almost done with the team. In the upcoming weeks, the 2013 fourth-round selection is anticipated to be made public.
“Bakhtiari had a fantastic career with the Pack, winning three Pro Bowls (2016, 2019, 2020), two First-Team All-Pro awards (2018, 2020), and three Second-Team All-Pro awards (2016, 2017, 2019). but has missed 45 games since the All-Pro’s career was derailed by a knee injury he suffered during a late-season practice in 2020.
Since then, the same knee has required five surgeries due to the injury. Last season, he played in just one game. The release, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, is a “matter a formality.” Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press Gazette concurred.
The 11-year veteran’s salary can be reduced by over $21 million for the Packers. He will have a team-high $40MM applied to the Packers’ cap this season. Bakhtiari has one more season left on his contract. Although the Packers have more than $19 million in deferred signing bonuses scheduled to represent dead money when the cut is finalized, none of his remaining pay is guaranteed.
According to Spano, Bakhtiari is quite likely to negotiate a highly incentive-filled contract with the New York Jets in order to play alongside Aaron Rodgers again.
