Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari’s season is over. He hopes his career is not over.
Bakhtiari confirmed to reporters today that he will not play again this season because of the bad knee that has plagued him for years needs another surgery. But he said he hopes to be ready for training camp in 2024.
Whether that will be in Green Bay remains to be seen. Bakhtiari has a whopping $40 million cap hit next season, but none of his 2024 pay is guaranteed. Obviously, he’d have to take a very big pay cut to be back with the Packers.
Bakhtiari signed a four-year, $105.5 million contract that made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history at the time in November of 2020. He tore his ACL on December 31, 2020, and knee problems have lingered for him ever since. He missed the rest of the 2020 season, played in just one game in the 2021 season, played 11 games in 2022 and has now declared his 2023 season over after playing just one game.