The Green Bay Packers won’t have left tackle David Bakhtiari back in the fold until after the bye at the earliest.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said that Bakhtiari, who is still recovering from an ACL repair, won’t play this week against the Los Angeles and his status won’t be re-assessed until after the team’s Week 13 bye.
“He won’t be out there this week. We’ll see where he’s at after the bye. We’re hopeful that he will be able to come back this year at some point,” LaFleur said.
LaFleur’s comments match reporting from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who said the Packers are hoping Bakhtiari can return at some point in December.
The Packers play the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field coming off the bye week on Dec. 12.
LaFleur said Bakhtiari’s absence isn’t from a lack of work ethic or effort or toughness during the rehab process.
“You never quite know how everybody is going to respond to the recovery process, and that’s just where we’re at with him,” LaFleur said.
Bakhtiari tore his ACL during practice on Dec. 31 of last year. He started practicing with the team starting on Oct. 20 and was activated from the PUP list on Nov. 11, but the Packers recently shut him down.
“Nothing everything goes as planned all the time,” LaFleur said.
LaFleur also confirmed Elgton Jenkins suffered a season-ending knee injury. He is believed to have torn his ACL against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
With Bakhtiari and Jenkins both out, the Packers are expected to start Yosh Nijman at left tackle against the Rams.
LaFleur said Nijman played some “good ball” for the Packers during his three-start stretch at left tackle earlier in the season. He played seven pass-blocking snaps on Sunday after Jenkins departed and did not allow a pressure.
[listicle id=71782]