Packers LT David Bakhtiari to miss rest of season, requires another surgery

Green Bay Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari announced Friday he will miss the remainder of the 2023 season.

Bakhtiari, who has undergone multiple surgeries on his knee in the last three years, will undergo one more and hopes to be ready by training camp next season, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“The human side of it, it took a lot of stress, a lot of time on my end,” Bakhtiari said. “But the clarity is to know that we’re fine, we finally know what the problem is. And we can address the problem. That’s the, I guess, glass-half-full part of the scenario.

“So that’s where we’re at. That’s the pill I have to swallow.”

Bakhtiari, 32, has suited up in just 13 games since tearing his ACL in December 2020. After playing in 11 games last season, Bakhtiari was back at left tackle for the 38-20 Week 1 victory over the Chicago Bears. Bakhtiari looked like his All-Pro self in the win, but his knee began swelling in the days after. The Packers placed him on injured reserve on Sept. 28.

“I’m a symptomatic individual for this specific injury, and I need to fix that,” Bakhtiari said. “And it’s just unfortunate. Getting a bunch of opinions. I even went all the way over to the East Coast to talk to another doctor, and talking to Brian, I think we are at a point where we collectively understand what the problem is.

“It is just very unfortunate, because in my knee and how it is, it’s basically like sandpaper when it rubs. It’s just not smooth, which is creating a lot of fluid. And, you know, I’ve been dealing with a lot of the friction for a long time. And that’s where you see I’m constantly in and then out, I’m out and then I’m in.”

Packers concerned about David Bakhtiari’s knee

Head coach Matt LaFleur said Thursday he was “very concerned” about Bakhtiari’s lingering knee issues.

“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.”

He signed a four-year, $105.5 million extension in November 2020, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history at the time. None of his pay is guaranteed in 2024.