GREEN BAY, Wis. — After as many knee surgeries as All-Pro seasons, David Bakhtiari has been released by the Green Bay Packers. Sources told ESPN that Bakhtiari has no intention of ending his 11-year career at this time.
It was not immediately clear whether he intended to continue his 11-year career.
“Looking forward to seeing what happens next,” he wrote. The franchise left tackle announced his farewell in a social media post on Monday.
There’s a lot of emotion in this. I want to say thank you, Green Bay. Thank you for the past 11 years. It was an incredible run. I’ve always wanted to have a Lombardi on Lombardi Street and I’ll never complain. I tried my best. I have always tried my best no matter the situation… pic.twitter.com/dnc7gkKSAC
— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) March 11, 2024
The end of Bakhtiari is inevitable, as he underwent his fifth surgery on the left knee he suffered late last season, effectively ending his career with the team that drafted him in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. So I thought.
In fact, Bakhtiari, 32, had two surgeries on his left knee last fall, bringing his total to five surgeries on his left knee since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament on Dec. 31, 2020. Over the past three seasons, Bakhtiari has played in just one game. 13 of a possible 51 regular season games.
The latest issue was published after he appeared in last year’s regular season opener. Shortly after, he underwent what he described as a minor surgery to “clear everything up and work on what to do next.”
That would require a more complex procedure to address the torn cartilage on the lateral femoral condyle that Bakhtiari sustained during his initial injury. He said the reason he didn’t repair it during the first ACL surgery was because there was a chance it wouldn’t be a problem in the future.
Bakhtiari said before his final surgery that he hoped to be ready by the start of training camp in 2024.
Bakhtiari is in the final year of a four-year, $92 million contract extension he signed in November 2020, less than two months before tearing his ACL. He was scheduled to make $21.5 million this season, but none of that was guaranteed, meaning the Packers will no longer be on the salary cap. However, the 2024 cap will include more than $19 million in dead money. Had he been on the season-opening roster, he would have made $40.5 million.
It didn’t take long for Bakhtiari to establish himself as one of the NFL’s best left tackles. He was named All-Pro for the first time in 2016, when he made the second team. He was also named to the second team in 2017 and 2019, and was named first team All-Pro in 2018 and 2020.
Bakhtiari performed at a top level when he was able to play even after his injury. The problem was he couldn’t stay in the lineup all the time. The Packers allowed Bakhtiari to practice only occasionally to keep him in games.
Bakhtiari said last fall between his fourth and fifth surgeries that he wanted to continue playing but understood that business considerations might not allow him to do so in Green Bay.
“I think everything is on the table,” Bakhtiari said in October. “For me, you can only control what you can control. I think I’m going to make sure I attack the rehabilitation, win the day, take the bite out of the elephant, finish off the elephant, and then make a decision and see what happens.” They have a decision to make.” “Think about what’s best for their franchise. I understood that the moment I came in here.”
Bakhtiari was one of Aaron Rodgers’ last remaining confidants on the team’s roster.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has plenty of top draft picks if he wants to use him at left tackle. He has five picks in the first three rounds, including two second-round picks and two third-round picks.
Rasheed Walker, a 2022 seventh-round pick, filled in for Bakhtiari for most of the season. “Certainly I think he’s already shown that he’s done a great job,” Gutekunst said recently when asked if Walker could be a starting pitcher.
However, Gutekunst stopped short of anointing Walker as his successor.
“I want to compete for all five spots,” Gutekunst said. “But Rashid is also a player who has improved with the work he has put in, which is exactly what we want and we hope he continues to get better. He had a pretty good year last year, he’s a great guy with a lot of positive aspects. I can’t wait to see where he goes. ”