David Bakhtiari was placed in IR on Thursday due to his most recent knee issues. The Packers do not anticipate a quick return.
Ian Rapoport of NFL .
com reports that Bakhtiari, an 11-year veteran, has undergone another knee surgery and is unlikely to return this season.
Bakhtiari has already had three knee surgeries to address the knee injury that derailed his career, and this week he added an arthroscopic procedure to the list.
There will also be another procedure.
Although this ongoing issue has threatened to keep the All-Pro out for another season, Rapoport adds that Bakhtiari is aiming to be ready for the 2024 season.
The subsequent operation is anticipated to take place within a few weeks. Despite the fact that Bakhtiari’s knee issues have essentially taken over his career since tearing his ACL on New Year’s Eve 2020, he does not intend to retire as a result of this most recent setback.
Bakhtiari has missed 25 regular-season games and three playoff games for the Packers since the initial injury.
Before Week 2, he experienced swelling in his surgically repaired knee, which prompted the surgery that is expected to result in Bakhtiari’s second one-game season in three years.
The four-time Pro Bowler only participated in one game during the 2021 season, returning for a pointless Week 18 match.
Bakhtiari missed the subsequent divisional round match due to playing in that game, and last season did not see a return to full strength.
Bakhtiari missed six games during Aaron Rodgers’ final campaign with the Green Bay Packers.
The accomplished blocker was also limited by an appendectomy, but the knee problems kept coming back.
This offseason, the 32-year-old tackle expressed optimism, but that turned out to be deceptive.
Elgton Jenkins, a Pro Bowl left guard who is recovering from an MCL sprain, is still out, so this will undoubtedly be a blow to the Packers’ offensive line.
Jenkins’ latest round of knee issues have caused him to miss three games, despite not being placed on the injured reserve.
After suffering an ACL tear that forced him to miss all of November 2021, Jenkins overcame it, got back in shape, and ended the previous season by agreeing to a lucrative extension. Bakhtiari has not had the same good fortune.
Despite these persistent problems, Bakhtiari has performed admirably under his contract. Weeks before suffering an ACL tear, the 2013 fourth-round pick signed his second Packers contract extension, a four-year, $92 million deal that was at the time a record.
Through the 2024 season, that agreement is in effect. Bakhtiari cannot rejoin the Packers without a contract modification because of his $20 point 2 million base salary and $40 point 6 million cap hit.
By using a post-June 1 cut designation, Green Bay could divide up his $19MM dead-money hit; however, a pay reduction might make the parties’ relationship last longer.
Bakhtiari placed second in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric despite having knee pain limit him last season.
He was ranked as the 12th-best tackle in the NFL by Pro Football Focus in 2022.
Bakhtiari has been replaced by Rasheed Walker, a seventh-round pick by the Packers in 2022, for the most part this season.
In 2021, Jenkins filled in for Bakhtiari, but the following year, the team switched him back to guard.
Jenkins’ return will undoubtedly help, but Bakhtiari will be challenging to replace after Green Bay’s O-line struggled to protect Jordan Love in a two-score loss to Detroit on Thursday night.