Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari made some headlines earlier this offseason by referring to the Packers as “they” and saying the team is in rebuilding mode, which was a characterization that some others in the organization took issue with in response.
Bakhtiari later revisited the comments and said that rebuilding didn’t mean the team couldn’t contend in 2023. Their chances of doing so will look better if Bakhtiari is healthy and playing well, but the last couple of seasons have been short on the health front.
Knee issues kept Bakhtiari out for all but one game in 2021 and he missed six more contests last year. Bakhtiari’s final offseason report on the current state of his knee was a positive one, however.
“I feel really good,” Bakhtiari said, via Pete Dougherty of PackersNews.com. “Obviously I don’t want to jinx it or oversell anything. But I think it will show up in how much I play. . . . I was just giving it everything I could to make it work for last year. It wasn’t ideal, but sometimes you’re not dealt the best hand. Now I’d say from a (knee) strength standpoint I feel very strong.”
Bakhtiari is signed through 2024 with a cap hit of over $40 million in the final year of his deal. The Packers can get $21.5 million of it back if they part ways with him after the 2023 season or they could work out an extension to lessen the cap charge while keeping him around. The state of his knee will help determine what path everyone takes in the future.
