Bakhtiari’s Words Are Troubling

It couldn’t have been easy for the Packers to give David Bakhtiari a $15 million signing bonus last month. The five-time All-Pro left tackle has played only 18 games since agreeing to a $92M extension in November 2020. That’s showing a lot of faith in an athlete who underwent three operations on the same knee between the winter of 2021 and the spring of 2022.

It’s fair to wonder whether the decision-makers in Green Bay regret cutting that big check after listening to Bakhtiari’s remarks on a recent Bussin’ with the Boys podcast. It may only have been offseason banter between three friends, but what the 11-year veteran from Colorado said to co-hosts and ex-NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan was very troubling.

Bakhtiari seemed upset with the organization for trading close friend Aaron Rodgers to the Jets, so much so that he continually referred to the Packers as “they.” The decision to use that particular pronoun sure came off as a deliberate attempt by Bakhtiari to distance himself from the franchise that drafted him a decade ago and has paid him in excess of $140M.

Even more troubling was the way Bakhtiari spoke about the Packers’ chances to win next season. He uttered the word “rebuild” multiple times, even though general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur have gone out of their way to avoid using the R-word. While you could argue that Bakhtiari was just being truthful, there’s no defending what he said about midway through the podcast when explaining why the Packers held the leverage in trade talks with the Jets.

“The Packers are rebuilding whether you think so or not,” Bakhtiari surmised. “[Some people will say] ‘Could they be good, I really don’t know.’ More people are going to think they’re [the Packers] going to be more bad than good, right? That’s fair to say. Then, they [the Packers] will say, ‘We’re going to suck anyways, we want what we want, and we’re not going to bend to anyone, so we’ll just eat it [Aaron Rodgers’ $58.5M guaranteed contract]. Stay unretired, we’ll pay you [Rodgers].'”

Bakhtiari was just getting warmed up. He went on to speculate from the Packers’ point of view why they were in no rush to trade Rodgers and would be willing to hold out for as long as possible to get the right combination of draft picks.

“If we’re going to do it, it’s going to be on our terms,” Bakhtiari continued. “If not, what we’re going to be Super Bowl contenders anyways? We’ll eat it, you [Rodgers] can hang on the side, pay you your money, we’ll suck anyways, and get the picks.”

There’s no denying that Bakhtiari was a compelling listen, but the last thing a young team with a first-year starter at quarterback needs is a disgruntled or disillusioned veteran in its midst. That’s why Pro Bowl guard Josh Sitton was shockingly cut on Sept. 3, 2014. Then-GM Ted Thompson wanted to remove any negative vibes before the start of the season.

Sitton’s unhappiness was due to money, and to be fair, that’s a lot different than being upset over your buddy being traded. Plus, we have no idea how Bakhtiari will feel when training camp begins in three months. Perhaps time will give him a different perspective on both his relationship with the organization and the odds of having a successful season.

But as of today, it sure seems as if Gutekunst, LaFleur, and team president Mark Murphy have more to be concerned about than just Bakhtiari’s ability to manage his balky knee and stay on the field for 17 games. They also have to worry about his state of mind, which almost certainly wasn’t a consideration when deciding whether to fork over that $15M bonus.

Hopefully, what Bakhtiari said on the podcast will be long forgotten by the time training camp begins in July, and his final season in Green Bay will be a healthy and productive one. And make no mistake about it, 2023 will be his swan song.

Regardless of how well Bakhtiari might play next season, there’s very little chance of him returning to the Packers in 2024. Age, the knee, and an unmanageable cap number will almost certainly find him with another team a year from now.

Bakhtiari turns 32 in early September, and while that’s not ancient for a left tackle, it does put him much closer to the end of his career than to the beginning. And that thrice surgically repaired left knee won’t be in better condition after (hopefully) another 1000-plus snaps. But at the end of the day, what will force Bakhtiari out of Green Bay is his huge contract.

The Packers won’t be able to afford the over $40M cap hit, so they’ll either have to extend, trade, or release Bakhtiari. Moving on is much more likely, considering the team would gain about $21M in cap space. That would make the most sense for the organization, and at least judging from what Bakhtiari said earlier this week, it might be exactly what he wants.