Former Green Bay Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari played just one game last season before a knee injury caused him to be placed on injured reserve and miss the remainder of the season. Injuries have plagued him the last few years, but he is currently on schedule to return for the 2024 season, according to NFL Media.
Bakhtiari had a follow-up exam with Dr. Brian Cole, chairman of Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and chairman of surgery at Oak Park Hospital, and the evaluation showed that he is on schedule for a return this year.
In October 2023, Bakhtiari announced that he would undergo season-ending surgery to fix a cartilage issue in his knee.
The 32-year-old has played in just 13 games since the beginning of the 2021 NFL season. He suffered an ACL tear during practice in December 2020, an injury that took some time for him to recover from, resulting in missed games the next season. He played in one game during the 2021 season and 11 games in 2022.
When healthy, he has proven to be dominant at his position, earning five All-Pro nods (three second team) and three Pro Bowl honors. In the one game he played in last year, he did not allow a sack, a quarterback hit or a quarterback pressure.
The Packers released the veteran this offseason and the free agent is still looking for his next team. Wherever he does land, it looks like the team will be able to utilize his talents right away, if his recovery continues to progress as expected. One potential landing spot for the offensive tackle is the New York Jets, considering his ties to Aaron Rodgers.
The 2013 fourth-round pick has spent his entire career with the Packers. He has started all 131 games he has played in.
