The Packers could undoubtedly use David Bakhtiari against Za’Darius Smith and the Vikings on Sunday, but the NFL season is a marathon and not a sprint, so sitting the star left tackle – even if he’s deemed ready to play – might be a good idea.
Bakhtiari has played only 27 snaps since suffering a serious injury to his left knee in practice on December 31, 2020. In the ensuing 20 months, the perennial All-Pro has undergone three surgeries. After beginning camp on the physically unable to perform list, Bakhtiari was activated in the middle of last month and has been practicing fairly consistently for the past couple of weeks. He’s considered questionable for Sunday, so there’s at least a chance he’ll play. But should he?
The last time Bakhtiari stepped on a football field was eight months ago in Detroit, and things didn’t go as planned. The 30-year-old exited late in the second quarter after his knee flared up, and he was forced to sit out the divisional round game against the 49ers two weeks later. Did playing for the first time in over a year on a hard and unforgiving artificial surface cause the setback? We’ll never know the answer to that particular question, but it’s safe to assume it didn’t help.
That brings us to Sunday. Should Bakhtiari’s return to the field after another long layoff once again take place on turf? Remember, U.S. Bank Stadium is where Pro Bowl offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins tore his ACL last autumn and where four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone in 2017. And while injuries can happen on any type of surface, there’s a reason players despise fake grass and why so many teams switched to the real stuff in the past 20 years.
After Week 1, the Packers play all their games on grass until Halloween Eve in Buffalo. By then, if all goes well, Bakhtiari would’ve played six games and taken hundreds of snaps before having to subjugate his rebuilt knee to turf once again. That seems to be a better plan than having his very first game in over eight months and second game since December 27, 2020, on a surface described the following way by former Packer J.C. Tretter, who’s currently the president of the NFLPA:
“Once I started experiencing both surfaces after college, I began to understand exactly why my teammates disliked the practices on turf,” Tretter said. “Whenever I practiced on an artificial field surface, my joints felt noticeably stiffer the next day. The unforgiving nature of artificial turf compounds the grind on the body we already bear from playing a contact sport.”
I’d sit both Bakhtiari and Jenkins on Sunday in Minnesota if it were up to me. Sure it would lessen Green Bay’s chances of winning against a division rival, but it would be only one game out of 17. Heck, the Packers dropped their opener to New Orleans by a whopping 35 points a year ago and still wound up going 13-4 and securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Plus, who’s to say they couldn’t win without Bakhtiari and Jenkins? After all, they did just that five out of six times last season.
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I don’t disagree with the thought process, but if we’re going to do that we may as well treat this game as preseason number 4 and sit Rodgers as well. There’s no point in sending him out there to get smacked around like a baseball on a tee on the aforementioned carpet covered concrete.
I agree, holding them out is the best course of action. I wasn’t aware the next six games were on grass but it makes even more sense considering that. Of course it opens LaFleur up for a lot of criticism and second guessing if that gets Rodgers hurt.
You make a good point here, Michael. I still think they can win without Jenkins and Bakh. Week 1 games usually seem to be crazy and have little effect on the rest of the season. Given the surface, I’m fine with sitting both, working the run game, hoping the D can make some turnovers. LaFleur’s first game with the new system, led to 10 points. Maybe O’Connell’s system will take a bit for them to figure out. Either way, if they lose this game, no big deal.
I definitely agree with you on this one Michael. The Packers are historically extremely conservative with injuries and lean heavily with caution. I cannot see starting 69 and/or 74 with little practice or game time since their injuries