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David Bakhtiari Aiming To Play In 2024, Uncertain Of Packers Future

October 6th, 2023 at 5:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

David Bakhtiari‘s NFL path changed on New Year’s Eve 2020. Not only did the Packers see their Super Bowl LV hopes affected by an injury sustained in practice, they have been unable to rely on their All-Pro left tackle since.

Once again set to miss most of a season due to knee trouble, Bakhtiari confirmed he will not play again this year. But the 11th-year blocker indicated he does expect to play in 2024. Bakhtiari stopped short of confirming he would be a Packer again, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, as his persistent injury issues could prompt Green Bay to move on after this year.

The ACL tear Bakhtiari sustained nearly three years ago led to three surgeries between the December 2020 tear and the start of Packers training camp in 2022. He went through a fourth knee operation last week and has another scheduled for this year in Chicago, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein. A training camp 2024 return represents Bakhtiari’s goal.

Bakhtiari said his 2023 knee procedures are not connected to his ACL but address a femoral condyle cartilage issue. This trouble does stem from the 2020 injury, but after doctors hoped it would not become a problem for the All-Pro, a decision was made not to address this ancillary issue via another surgery at the time, per Demovsky. This lingering issue was enough to keep Bakhtiari off the field in Weeks 2 and 3, and after the Packers placed him on IR ahead of their Week 4 Lions matchup, news emerged indicating this problem would sideline him for the season’s remainder.

After missing the Packers’ two playoff games in 2020, Bakhtiari spent part of 2021 on Green Bay’s PUP list. The team activated the high-priced LT in mid-November that year but did not deploy him in a game until a meaningless Week 18 contest. The Packers used Bakhtiari on 27 plays in that season-ender in Detroit, despite the team having locked down home-field advantage. The ramp-up effort backfired. Bakhtiari did not play in Green Bay’s divisional-round game two weeks later. He was ready to go in time for Week 1 of the 2022 season, but knee trouble and an appendectomy led to six absences last year.

When on the field last season, Bakhtiari resumed his place as one of the game’s best O-linemen. ESPN’s pass block win rate metric ranked Bakhtiari second among tackles and tops among left-siders. But last month’s setback offered another reminder of how damaging that 2020 injury has been for the former fourth-round success story.

Bakhtiari, 32, said (via Demovsky) he and GM Brian Gutekunst have discussed his future. The Packers gave their top lineman a then-record-setting deal — four years, $92MM — during the 2020 season. That deal has not panned out, and if Bakhtiari is in the team’s plans for 2024 (the contract’s final season), he will need to almost definitely rework it. Due to past restructures, next season calls for a $40.6MM Bakhtiari cap number. No void years are present in this deal. It would cost the Packers more than $19MM in dead money to cut Bakhtiari, but that number could be spread across two years if the team uses the post-June 1 designation.

The Packers only have one big-ticket contract on their offense — Elgton Jenkins‘ four-year, $68MM deal — and the team will be rid of the Aaron Rodgers dead money by 2024. But Bakhtiari’s Packers future is in doubt after this latest bout of knee pain. How he responds from his latest round of surgeries will represent the next check-in regarding this long-running situation.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/3/23

October 3rd, 2023 at 7:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: WR Kendric Pryor

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: LB Mikel Jones

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: S Christian Young

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Taiwan Jones will now look to catch on elsewhere after getting let go by the Giants. The veteran joined New York’s practice squad back in August and was elevated for the first two games of the season, with Jones returning one kick and one punt. It’s been a bit since Jones last contributed on offense, but the veteran was a reliable special teams player for the Bills for half a decade (two stints).

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/3/23

October 3rd, 2023 at 7:18pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Tennessee Titans

Colts Have Not Engaged In Recent Jonathan Taylor Trade Talks; Team To Open Taylor’s Practice Window

October 1st, 2023 at 7:16am CST by Adam La Rose

OCTOBER 1: The Colts plan to open Taylor’s 21-day practice window on Wednesday, October 4, per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. Rapoport and Pelissero confirm Breer’s report that there have been no trade talks between Indianapolis and other clubs in recent days, though one source tells them that “multiple teams” remain interested in acquiring Taylor and authorizing a top-of-the-market contract for him. Likewise, Ballard is still open to moving his Pro Bowl back if he gets the right offer. Per Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required), Ballard is seeking an early second-round pick (or, presumably, an equivalent package).

As suggested below, the Colts’ current list of potential trade partners does not include the Dolphins, who have not spoken to Indy since the season began, or the Packers, who remain out of the mix. For now, the Colts are simply focused on getting Taylor — who has been rehabbing at the team facility in recent weeks — back on the field.

SEPTEMBER 30: With their Week 4 contest just around the corner, the Colts will soon need to decide how to proceed with Jonathan Taylor. The team’s lead running back will be eligible to be activated from the PUP list next week, and it appears likely he will be able to suit up in Indianapolis or elsewhere in the near future.

Taylor has been nursing an ankle injury since training camp, and his placement on the reserve/PUP list during roster cutdowns bought the Colts an extra month to work out a potential trade. A deal sending him out of Indianapolis remains the 24-year-old’s goal, but the situation does not seem headed in that direction for the time being.

The Colts haven’t received trade calls in recent days, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer notes. That comes as little surprise, given the lack of teams known to still be interested in Taylor at this point. The Dolphins and Packers have been heavily linked to him in recent months, but Miami’s strong (and cost-effective) RB room and Green Bay’s decision to drop out of the running in any potential deal have dropped the number of logical destinations. Breer adds that interest will likely pick up if/when Taylor plays for the Colts as early as Week 5, if he is activated by that point.

Breer also predicts Colts general manager Chris Ballard would be more than willing to listen to trade offers, despite the latter’s public optimism the team’s relationship with Taylor can be repaired. Indianapolis was originally seeking a first-round pick in a deal for the former second-rounder, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. That stance is believed to have since shifted, though, and a lower asking price could open up at least a rental market for the remainder of the 2023 campaign.

Taylor appears to be fully healed (as many have speculated he has been since before the regular season kicked off), per ESPN’s Stephen Holder. The 2021 rushing champion has suggested as much in recent social media posts, though Holder notes Taylor has immediately departed the team’s facility after his morning workout routines, and that he has been absent from each of the Colts’ games this season. That would make a return to action in Indianapolis a tense development in this saga, though it is the expected outcome at this point.

Taylor’s contract would toll to 2024 if he were to go without being activated by Week 6 and stay on the PUP list through the rest of the campaign. If he were to play for the Colts this season, the franchise tag would become a serious consideration on the team’s part. For the time being, though, all eyes will be on the Colts’ plans with respect to activating Taylor with the October 31 trade deadline looming.

David Bakhtiari Likely Out For Season; Packers LT Not Contemplating Retirement

September 29th, 2023 at 8:29am CST by Sam Robinson

The latest batch of knee trouble David Bakhtiari is experiencing sent him to IR on Thursday. The Packers are not expecting a near-future return.

Bakhtiari is unlikely to come back this season, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who reports the 11th-year veteran has undergone another knee surgery. Already undergoing three knee procedures to address the knee injury that sidetracked his career, Bakhtiari added an arthroscopic procedure to the list this week. Another surgery is scheduled as well.

The ensuing operation is expected to occur within a few weeks, and while this recurring problem has threatened to take the All-Pro out for another season, Rapoport adds Bakhtiari is aiming to be ready for the 2024 season. Despite the knee trouble effectively taking over Bakhtiari’s career since that New Year’s Eve 2020 ACL tear, he is not planning to retire as a result of this latest setback.

Since the initial injury, Bakhtiari has missed 25 regular-season games and three Packers playoff tilts. He experienced swelling in his surgically repaired knee before Week 2, leading to the surgery that is on track to make this a second one-game Bakhtiari season for the second time in three years. The four-time Pro Bowler played only one game during the 2021 campaign, making a return for a meaningless Week 18 contest. Playing in that game led to Bakhtiari missing the ensuing divisional-round matchup, and last season did not bring a return to full strength.

Aaron Rodgers‘ final Green Bay season came with Bakhtiari missing six games. While an appendectomy limited the accomplished blocker as well, the knee trouble recurred. The 32-year-old tackle expressed optimism this offseason; that turned out to be misleading.

This will obviously deal a blow to a Packers O-line that remains without Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins, who is recovering from an MCL sprain. While Jenkins has not been placed on IR, he has already missed three games as a result of his latest round of knee trouble. Jenkins battled back from the ACL tear that shut him down in November 2021, returning to form and signing a lucrative extension late last season. Bakhtiari has not been as fortunate.

These recurring issues aside, Bakhtiari has done quite well contractually. Weeks before his ACL tear, the 2013 fourth-round pick inked his second Packers extension — a then-record-setting four-year, $92MM accord. That contract runs through the 2024 season. With Bakhtiari tied to a $20.2MM base salary and a $40.6MM cap hit, he will not return to the Packers without a contract adjustment. Green Bay could split up his $19MM dead-money hit by using a post-June 1 cut designation, though a pay reduction could conceivably extend the parties’ relationship.

Even with knee pain limiting him last season, Bakhtiari graded second in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric. Pro Football Focus graded him as the NFL’s 12th-best tackle in 2022. The Packers have primarily turned to 2022 seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker in Bakhtiari’s place this year. Jenkins filled in for Bakhtiari in 2021, but the team moved him back to guard last season. Green Bay’s O-line struggled to protect Jordan Love in a two-score loss to Detroit on Thursday night, and although Jenkins’ return will certainly help, Bakhtiari will again be difficult to replace.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/23

September 28th, 2023 at 6:44pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Seattle Seahawks

The Cowboys are moving on from Devin Harper after two seasons. The 2022 sixth-round pick out of Oklahoma State ultimately got into six games during his time in Dallas, collecting three tackles while mostly playing on special teams.

The Seahawks are down to four wide receivers on their active roster after they moved on from Cody Thompson today. The Toledo product spent much of the past three seasons in Seattle, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams.

Packers Place LT David Bakhtiari On IR

September 28th, 2023 at 3:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Still dealing with knee trouble, David Bakhtiari will return to injured reserve. The Packers will be without their All-Pro blind-sider for at least four games, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report. The Packers have since announced the IR placement.

Bakhtiari has not played since Week 1. Because this transaction is taking place before Green Bay’s Week 4 game, Bakhtiari would be eligible to return in Week 8. But it is far from a lock he will be able to do so, with Rapoport indicating the 11th-year veteran may need more time to come back this year — if, in fact, a return is in the cards.

Bakhtiari, who will turn 32 on Saturday, has undergone three knee surgeries since his New Year’s Eve 2020 ACL tear. That injury effectively threw the highly paid blocker’s career off course. He only returned for a handful of snaps during the 2021 season and missed six games last year, though an appendectomy contributed to his 2022 missed-games ledger. Prior to the seminal 2020 setback — one that played a significant role in the Packers’ Super Bowl LV push falling just short — Bakhtiari had never missed more than four games in a season.

Matt LaFleur said Bakhtiari experienced swelling in his surgically repaired knee before Week 2. The fifth-year Green Bay HC had previously declined to comment on Bakhtiari playing on FieldTurf; the veteran has been a vocal opponent of the surface. But Bakhtiari also missed the Packers’ home opener at Lambeau Field, putting to rest the speculation his Week 2 absence was field surface-related.

It is safe to say Bakhtiari’s career is now at a crossroads. The Packers are certainly a better team when the four-time Pro Bowler is available, but this is the third season in which knee trouble will lead to a lengthy absence. The Packers are also down Elgton Jenkins to a knee injury. Jenkins joined Bakhtiari in missing much of the 2021 season, having suffered an ACL tear himself. But Jenkins recovered from his severe injury on time and has since signed a lucrative Packers extension. Jenkins has been out since suffering an MCL sprain in Week 1. The fifth-year guard does not expect this injury to force an IR stint, ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky notes.

Rasheed Walker has primarily replaced Bakhtiari at left tackle. While the Packers were able to get by without both Bakhtiari and Jenkins en route to home-field advantage in 2021, Aaron Rodgers being in MVP form propped up that effort. Jordan Love being without his best two O-linemen will obviously hinder the cause early in his starter run, though the Rodgers successor managed to eke out a shorthanded win over the Saints last week.

The Packers are also expected to have two of their skill-position pillars back against the Lions tonight. Aaron Jones is set to return from his hamstring injury, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, who adds Christian Watson is on track to make his season debut after missing three weeks due to a hamstring ailment.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/23/23

September 23rd, 2023 at 7:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are the various practice squad elevations and other minor moves from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • Signed to active roster: LB Sam Eguaveon
  • Elevated: OL Chris Glaser

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Bills LB Christian Kirksey To Retire

September 21st, 2023 at 8:42am CST by Sam Robinson

Just before the season, Christian Kirksey ventured to Buffalo on a practice squad agreement. The veteran linebacker prioritized signing with a contender, upon not making the Texans’ 53-man roster. But he does not plan to stay on with the Bills.

Instead, the 10th-year vet has informed the team he plans to retire, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reports. Kirksey, 31, spent time with the Browns, Packers and Texans before coming to Buffalo. Prior to this season, the former third-round pick had been a regular starter in each of his previous nine seasons. The Bills have since announced Kirksey’s retirement plan.

To fill Kirksey’s spot on the practice squad, Garafolo adds the Bills are planning to bring back A.J. Klein. The off-and-on Bills regular was with the team during training camp. Klein re-signed with the Bills in April but was among the vested veterans not to make the team’s 53-man roster in August. The 11th-year veteran has remained in free agency since that cut.

Chosen by the Browns during what became an infamous draft for the team, Kirksey ended up a long-term starter for the downtrodden franchise. After selecting first-round busts Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel, the Browns did very well on Day 2 of the 2014 draft. They added Joel Bitonio in Round 2 and Kirksey in Round 3, taking the Iowa linebacker at No. 71 overall. Bitonio has become one of the Browns’ best players since the 1999 reboot, while Kirksey became a six-year starter for the team.

Kirksey’s post-Cleveland tenure provided a bounce-back effort after injuries sidetracked him as the 2010s wound down. After the Browns released him in 2020, Kirksey wound up with the Packers and started for a team that reached the NFC championship game. The Packers also released Kirksey, however, leading him to the Texans as one of the many veterans to stop through Houston on short-term accords during Nick Caserio‘s GM tenure. Kirksey spent the past two years in Houston, starting 29 games with the rebuilding team. After signing an extension to stay with the Texans in 2022, he started all 17 games and posted a 124-tackle, three-sack, two-interception season.

Excepting his 2020 Green Bay cameo, Kirksey did his best work for struggling teams. The off-ball ‘backer notched a career-high 148 tackles (11 for loss) during the Browns’ 1-15 season in 2016, earning a four-year, $38MM extension during the 2017 offseason. Cleveland then completed the NFL’s second 0-16 season, doing so despite rostering the likes of Bitonio, Kirksey, Joe Thomas and well-paid ILB Jamie Collins. The Browns cut bait on Kirksey’s deal with two years remaining, and he never came especially close to securing that kind of cash again. Still, Kirksey will leave the game having made more than $37MM.

Offering intermittent sack production despite his place on teams’ defensive second levels, Kirksey finishes his career with 16.5 sacks and 45 tackles for loss. He produced three 100-plus-tackle seasons.

Packers G Elgton Jenkins Suffers MCL Sprain

September 18th, 2023 at 3:32pm CST by Ely Allen

SEPTEMBER 18: When speaking to the media, Jenkins confirmed he has indeed suffered an MCL sprain. ESPN’s Rob Demovsky notes the 27-year-old is wearing a brace on his left knee, though Jenkins expressed optimism he will be able to return at some point this season. In spite of that, an IR stint is likely in his case as the Packers continue to battle injury troubles with their top O-linemen.

SEPTEMBER 17: The injury woes for the left side of the Packers’ offensive line continued today. With left tackle David Bakhtiari already out for the game under an injury report label of “not injury related – rest,” Green Bay also needed to rely today on a backup at left guard, as well, after Elgton Jenkins left the game with a knee injury.

Jenkins was injured on a running play during which bruising running back A.J. Dillon crashed into the outside of Jenkins’ leg on his way to the ground. Jenkins had to leave the game and failed to make a return during the contest. The Packers don’t quite fear the worst for the ligament at the moment as, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the team believes he has suffered an MCL sprain.

If Jenkins is forced to miss some extended time, it won’t be the first time he has had to do so. The year after his first Pro Bowl season, Jenkins missed the final six games of the year with a torn ACL. He made a strong return the following season, though, starting 15 games and returning to the Pro Bowl, earning himself a four-year, $68MM contract extension.

When Jenkins exited the game today, backup guard Royce Newman subbed in and took his place. Newman does have experience starting for the Packers. As a fourth-round rookie in 2021, Newman started all but one game of the season at right guard. He didn’t quite retain his full-time starting gig in 2022 with Jenkins and Jon Runyan manning the guard spots once again, but Newman did find his way into the starting lineup in six games last year.

Newman has never graded out as an elite lineman, but the Packers will likely be satisfied to have an experienced starter in place until they know the severity of Jenkins’ knee sprain. MCL sprain recoveries can span from as little as three weeks to as many as 12 or more, depending on the severity. Jenkins will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine that severity and give the team a better idea of where they stand for the next stretch of the season.

Green Bay will hope to see their newly paid guard back out on the field soon, alongside Bakhtiari. In the meantime, the Packers will continue to rely on the likes of Newman and Bakhtiari’s backup, Rasheed Walker.

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