Matt LaFleur 'very concerned' about David Bakhtiari's injury

The Green Bay Packers are facing the prospect of playing the remainder of the season without left tackle David Bakhtiari. On Wednesday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur revealed his level of concern for the lineman’s future while on the Rich Eisen Show.

“I’m very concerned because this is year three of this now,” LaFleur said. “Obviously, very concerned. When he played against Chicago Week One, he was playing at an elite level with not a lot of practice. That just speaks to the kind of player that he is. He knows how to get his body and mind prepared mentally to go out there and compete at a high level. Any time you don’t have a Pro Bowler like him in the lineup, it is a concern.”

Bakhtiari missed most of training camp and the preseason while recovering from a knee injury. He played in Green Bay’s season-opening win against the Chicago Bears but the offensive tackle has not appeared in a game since. His knee required a scope, leading up to a bigger surgery, while the Packers placed him on IR.

Bakhtiari appeared in just one game for the Packers in 2021. He then played in 11 games during the 2022 season. Overall, the veteran has missed 29 of a possible 54 regular-season starts since he tore his ACL.

LaFleur would not say one way or another whether the lineman will play for the Packers again this year.

“Yeah, I’ll let Dave comment on that,” LaFleur said last week. “I know he wanted to talk to you guys later on. I’ll let him talk about his timeline.”

Bakhtiari, a former fourth-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, has appeared in 131 career games for Green Bay, starting in all of those. He’s earned three Pro Bowl appearances and has been named to the All-Pro team five times in his career.

Packers return Elgton Jenkins, Eric Stokes

The Green Bay Packers returned offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins and cornerback Eric Stokes to practice this week. It’s Stokes’ first work since last season. He had a foot and knee injury stemming from a November loss to the Detroit Lions.

Meanwhile, Jenkins, the starting left guard, departed the Week 2 game against the Falcons in the first half and did not return for the second half. He then underwent an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. The team determined he had an MCL sprain that would sideline him for two weeks.

Stokes started the season on the PUP list, which means the Packers have 21 days to activate him to the 53-man roster or place him on injured reserve.