The Green Bay Packers are just days away from opening their season with a highly anticipated game against the Chicago Bears in Week 1. However, the team is still dealing with a number of injuries in their season opener , which apparently could include star offensive tackle David Bakhtiari.
According to multiple reports, Bakhtiari was unable to practice with the team on Thursday. ESPN’s Green Bay reporter Rob Demovsky revealed that the two-time All-Pro tackle was seen on an exercise bike for the second straight day.
The positive side here is that it doesn’t appear that Bakhtiari suffered any injuries. It appears the 31-year-old was simply enjoying his veteran’s day off on Thursday, something that at this stage of his career happens more often.
The Packers are still taking a very cautious approach with Bakhtiari and his surgically repaired knee since he tore his ACL in 2020. It appears that will still be the case for the Pro Three-time bowler this upcoming season.
Regardless, this development does not seem to stop Bakhtiari from facing Chicago. Head coach Matt LaFleur said he still expects the former Colorado star to be available when they face the Bears:
“We anticipate he will be there on Sunday,” LaFleur said, via Acme Packing Co.’s Justis Cathedralda.
Bakhtiari himself had a very interesting experience regarding the missed training session and he was also clearly confident about his performance on Sunday:
“Practice is important, but not everyone needs to practice. It’s as clean as it gets. I would probably still get fined for that,” he said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
The Green Bay Packers get a big boost on the Romeo Doubs front
It wasn’t all bad news for the Packers on Thursday, though. Roméo Doubs, who missed Wednesday’s training session with a worrying hamstring injury, was able to return on Thursday. The new second-year receiver also appeared on the road Sunday. On the other hand, Christian Watson, who is currently nursing a hamstring injury, joined Bakhtiari on the bench on Thursday. At this point, it appears Watson is the most likely of the trio to face the Bears.