Look at the Green Bay Packers offensive roster, and you will quickly understand what its biggest issue is. Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom are good and promising young tackles, but the lack of depth is concerning — and something that got clearer after Andre Dillard's underwhelming performance against the Cleveland Browns last Saturday.
Developmental players like Kadeem Telfort and Caleb Jones don't seem like ideal alternatives either, so maybe an old friend could end up being the best option.
The offensive tackle market is as thin as you would expect in August, and the most talented available player is without a doubt former Packers All-Pro David Bakhtiari.
Sure enough, his knee issues have made him a cap casualty back in March. But at least Bakhtiari has had a positive medical update back in May.
According to NFL Network's insider Ian Rapoport, the former Green Bay Packers All-Pro offensive lineman had follow-up exams after new surgeries and has been proclaimed on schedule to be back in 2024.
It's not promising that we're less than one month away from the regular season and Bakhtiari hasn't had any workouts for NFL teams. But his plans is to be fully healthy before making a final decision. And even if he's not ready for week 1, it's a move Green Bay could make later in the season — after all, Rasheed Walker will be the starter anyway.
Role
At this point, considering that Bakhtiari has played only 13 games over the last three seasons, it's impossible to project him as a starter. Moreover, Walker played at a really good level down the stretch last season. He is young and inexpensive.
But Bakhtiari would be an amazing backup plan. Right now, Andre Dillard and Kadeem Telfort are the immediate reserves, but if the Packers really need one of them to play in a regular season game, head coach Matt LaFleur would have to protect them with the offensive scheme.
Bakhtiari would be an obvious improvement over any of them, and he played at a high level when healthy even after the catastrophic injury late in 2020. There would be questions if Bakhtiari would be willing to play at right tackle if needed, but Walker could temporarily move to the right side.
Financial ramifications
The first if is knowing whether Bakhtiari would want to go back to Green Bay as a backup — and it would probably take a lack of starting options elsewhere .
The second if is money. The Packers released Bakhtiari back in March because he was slated to make almost $20 million this year, an unrealistic amount for a player with so many injury issues. Would Bakhtiari want to return to the NFL for something close to the veteran minimum?
Most likely, his contract would have close to no guarantees, some injury waivers, and playing time incentives. If he gets a starting job elsewhere, or at least a chance to compete, the money would be higher.
But if no other team is willing to give him a chance, maybe a new chance in Green Bay to protect a quarterback he already knows and a system he's already mastered might be tempting.
A lot of different things have to happen for a Packers-Bakhtiari reunion to happen in 2024. But it doesn't seem as impossible as it did five months ago.
Related: Former Packers LT David Bakhtiari receives encouraging injury update
Local Green Bay, WI
Most Popular
Comments / 0