The Packers continue to open up some cap space. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), the team has reworked left tackle David Bakhtiari‘s contract.
[RELATED: Packers Restructure Aaron Jones’ Contract]
Specifically, the organization converted $11.58MM of Bakhtiari‘s 2022 compensation into a signing bonus. This move created “significant cap space” for the summer. In 2020, the Packers inked Bakhtiari to a four-year, $105.5MM extension that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.
It didn’t take long for the 2013 fourth-round pick to emerge into a starter, as the rookie lineman started 16 games at left tackle that season. The lineman has continually improved, culminating in him earning five-straight All-Pro nods (including a pair of first-team honors) between 2016 and 2020.
The veteran tore his ACL toward the end of the 2020 campaign, and he only managed to see the field for one contest during the 2021 season. Still, today’s transaction is consistent with GM Brian Gutekunst‘s recent remarks regarding his expectations for a clean bill of health for Bakhtiari in 2022 (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).
In a January interview with CheeseheadTV.com, which is well-worth a read for Packers fans, Bakhtiari himself detailed his struggles to return to the field in 2021, including the second surgery he underwent in November and the troubling fluid buildups in his knee. Like Gutekunst, though, Bakhtiari does not anticipate any health issues going forward, and he says his knee is structurally sound.
The Packers front office has been busy this week. The team also reworked the contracts of running back Aaron Jones and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
I honestly believe ARod has told them he’s coming back in private. Otherwise I’m not sure why they would be doing all of this restructuring and all in the way that they are. They are fixing their cap sitch short term but it will get painful again just a couple years from now. Instead of trading/cutting players, they’re restructuring cap room to get Devonte. If ARod wanted out, I think you’d see more players up for trade or released as a rebuild would be underway to start the Love era. (Which won’t last long when it does.)
It mirrors what N.O. did last years of Brees.
Anything is possible. I hope they’re not just banking on that idea (real or not) with no contingency plan.. Whether 12 or 17 return or not, they still have to get under the cap. And so far they’ve restructured deals for guys they either had no intention of cutting, or would cost them more if they did.
Someone better ask Greg Jennings what Rodgers plan is…
They’ve gone from like 47mm to 28mm over the cap in a week. Still have 2 big ones to rework that will also add to that with ARod and Z Smith contracts.
I think they just cut Z
There’s no point in paying a wideout that money when you’re moving on.
Even if he doesn’t come back, these moves have to be made. If he comes back it just means more moves have to be made. They are still over the cap without ARod on the books and still without Adams. This doesn’t mean anything in Terms of Rodgers.
I suppose the next Packers update will inform us that the team mascot and maintenance staff at Lambeau field are having their contracts restructured.
They don’t count against the cap. And they make a ton as Adam Schefter’s go to sources for all the latest Rodgers news, so their salaries aren’t that high anyway.