Green Bay Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari, after three surgeries on his knee, is the true definition of a day-to-day player. From one day to the next, there remains great uncertainty about how his knee will respond and feel – making his availability an ongoing guessing game.
Bakhtiari, the five-time All-Pro, practiced all three days last week after playing all but one series the week before, but he was then unable to play against the Washington Commanders on Sunday because of discomfort in the knee on Saturday.
Ten days ago, Bakhtiari told Bill Huber of SI.com the blunt truth.
“The tough part is how fluid this whole process is,” Bakhtiari said. “I’d like to be in a position – and in a game where you like to be consistent – this is very much, ‘Where is it at today? OK, we have to address and accept where it is today.’ You can’t force it because the last thing we want to do is force it and it puts us down a road where I’ve been before and it doesn’t end really well.”
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network echoed that idea while on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, stating that Bakhtiari has “good days and bad days” with the knee.
"From my understanding David Bakhtiari wakes up some days & his knee just doesn't feel right" ~@RapSheet#PMSOverreactionMonday pic.twitter.com/KxZBHtgMAR
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 24, 2022
Per Rapoport, Bakhtiari didn’t tweak his knee but instead woke up on Saturday and felt the discomfort, leading to the Packers adding him to the injury report. He was questionable and then didn’t play against the Commanders.
“Is it ever going to feel the same? It might not,” Rapoport said.
The Packers have tried managing the injury by giving him days off of practice and limiting his snaps within games.
With Bakhtiari out, the Packers started rookie Zach Tom at left tackle in Washington. He played 41 pass-blocking snaps without giving up a pressure in his first NFL start, although the Packers gave him plenty of help in terms of chips and quick passing.
At this point, now seven games into the season, it’s unclear how many more games Bakhtiari will play in 2022, and how many more seasons he wants to deal with a knee that isn’t cooperating.
Bakhtiari turned 31 in September. He’s under contract in Green Bay through the 2024 season. His cap number balloons to over $29 million in 2023, and the Packers will have to decide on his $9.5 million roster bonus payment by the third day of the new league year in March of next year.
