As far as the Green Bay Packers are concerned, David Bakhtiari’s time with them is drawing to a close. Or so many have thought in recent days. Three-time Pro Bowl left tackle, who has also made five All-Pro teams (two First Team All-Pros, three Second Team All-Pros), has missed most of the past three seasons due to knee injuries.
Recent reports have indicated that the Packers are actually in the process of moving on. In light of that, Bakhtiari himself decided to speak out.
David Bakhtiari Releases Statement Amid Rumors That The Green Bay Packers Are Ready To Move On
Matt Schneidman of The Athletic published an article in which he thinks the Packers will move on from the star left tackle. That has since garnered a ton of interest on social media. So much so that Bakhtiari himself responded to the idea:
If I get fired because of this, I blame you. https://t.co/eWcr6ygKfI
— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) February 18, 2024
Here is a snippet from Schneidman’s article:
The first order of business is deciding what to do with David Bakhtiari. For as successful as his lengthy Packers career has been, that decision shouldn’t be too hard. The 32-year-old and five-time All-Pro left tackle tore his ACL in practice Dec. 31, 2020, and has yet to fully overcome the recurring knee injuries that stemmed from the initial tear.
He’s played in only 25 of a possible 72 games in the regular season and playoffs over the past four seasons, including in only one game this past season.
Bakhtiari, who has spent the first 11 years of his career with the Packers, is entering the final year of a record-setting contract extension he signed during the 2020 season. According to Over the Cap, releasing or trading Bakhtiari would free up about $21 million in cap space for the Packers, who are about $3 million over the cap right now.
Bakhtiari hopes whatever surgery he had after playing only the season opener in 2023 will finally put him in the clear, but the Packers are getting younger and can’t reasonably afford banking on Bakhtiari’s knee at his current price.
The Packers will assuredly trade or release Bakhtiari — maybe the New York Jets fork over a late-round pick to reunite Bakhtiari with his old golf cart buddy Aaron Rodgers, and that’s not a joke — despite the possibility that he’s still elite when healthy, as he showed for a brief Sunday against the Chicago Bears in September.
It sure seems like Bakhtiari wants to stay in Green Bay. This statement along with one he made earlier this season makes that pretty obvious:
That’s the plan!
— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) December 4, 2023
