The Green Bay Packers might get left tackle David Bakhtiari back in the fold for the season finale in Detroit.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Monday that Bakhtiari is expected to return to practice this week, and the “ideal scenario” would be the All-Pro left tackle getting his first snaps of the season against the Lions.
LaFleur also said Bakhtiari is considered day to day and he wouldn’t commit to anything in terms of his availability for Sunday.
“We’ll see where he’s at at the end of the week,” LaFleur said. “He will practice some this week. Again, I hate to sound like a broken record, but we’ll take it one day at a time.”
Bakhtiari hasn’t played in a game since tearing his ACL on New Year’s Eve in 2020. He’s been on the active roster since Nov. 10 after starting the season on the PUP list, but the surgically-repaired knee required a clean-up procedure last month, setting back his return timeline.
LaFleur said it would be best if Bakhtiari could get some snaps under his belt before the start of the postseason. Sunday in Detroit is the final chance. Green Bay earned a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the NFC and won’t play until the divisional round.
LaFleur called Bakhtiari a “premium” player, and he doesn’t think the moment would be “too big” for the left tackle if he had to return to start the postseason without regular-season snaps.
Bakhtiari’s return could provide a big boost to an offensive line that has been ravaged by injury this season. When healthy and at the peak of his powers, Bakhtiari represents the gold standard at left tackle in the NFL.
As always, protecting the passer is worth its weight in gold during the postseason. Green Bay’s inability to keep Aaron Rodgers protected without Bakhtiari in the NFC title game last January was at least partly to blame for failing to reach the Super Bowl.
The Packers started the season with Elgton Jenkins at left tackle, but he tore his ACL in November and is out the remainder of the season. Third-string left tackle Yosh Nijman has started eight games at the position, including the last five games.
LaFleur said he’s planning on playing everyone on Sunday in Detroit because he’s not comfortable with having three weeks off between games for key players.
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