The Green Bay Packers don’t believe left tackle David Bakhtiari is dealing with a debilitating or career-threatening issue with his surgically reconstructed knee, but even coach Matt LaFleur had to admit no one really knows how his recovery will turn out at this point in the process.
Bakhtiari tore his ACL on Dec. 31 of 2020 and missed all but one game in 2021 as he battled through a long and frustrating rehab. He returned in the season finale to play 27 snaps but wasn’t able to play in the Packers’ season-ending playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night, a worrisome sign for the knee now 13 months into the recovery process.
Asked if the team is worried about the long-term outlook with Bakhtiari, LaFleur said he’s not greatly concerned because team doctors and independent consults outside the team believe the knee is structurally healthy.
“As far as long-term effects, I’m not overly concerned. The opinions that we’ve gotten from not only our docs but also other docs as well, is that, structurally, everything looks good,” LaFleur said Monday. “Until we get there, until we work through this, I don’t think anybody truly knows. Everybody responds to these injuries a little differently. Unfortunately, in his case, it’s taken longer than it typically does.”
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers pushed Bakhtiari to play in the season finale, believing he needed to get snaps on the field with his left tackle before the playoffs. It’s possible his return in Week 18 produced a setback that prevented Bakhtiari from playing in the postseason.
Last week, Bakhtiari didn’t practice on Tuesday or Thursday and was eventually made inactive for Saturday night’s game.
Was playing Bakhtiari in Detroit a mistake?
“That’s a tough one to answer,” LaFleur said. “You could say yes, because he didn’t play in the playoffs. I don’t know if it truly impacted his ability to play in the playoffs, but I think it’s definitely a fair question, in terms of why did we make that decision. We all felt, including himself, that he’d be able to go, and that would get everything behind us. Ultimately it didn’t work out that way.”
Without Bakhtiari, the Packers played Billy Turner at left tackle and Dennis Kelly at right tackle against the 49ers, and the offensive line failed to protect Rodgers on several important pass-blocking snaps.
Incredibly, the loss of Bakhtiari likely prevented the Packers from winning the NFC title game last January, and it played a massive factor in the Packers losing another playoff game this month.
Bakhtiari, a five-time All-Pro, signed a massive contract extension with the Packers in November of 2020.
The next question: Will Bakhtiari be ready for the start of the offseason workout program in mid-April?
