David Bakhtiari will miss the entire season after having knee surgery to correct a cartilage problem
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| Photo: David Bakhtiari. Credit: Getty Images |
David Bakhtiari, the left tackle for the Packers, is aware of the knee issue that has been bothering him for a while, but treating it will keep him out for the rest of the season.
The season is over for Bakhtiari, who Green Bay placed on injured reserve on September 28. He will have surgery to fix a cartilage problem with his lateral femur.
The procedure, which the three-time Pro Bowler stated will come after one last week to "clean out and address what we're going to do," aims to stop the fluid buildup and suffering Bakhtiari has been experiencing ever since tearing his ACL in practice on December 31, 2020. After the operation, the objective is to be prepared for training camp in 2024.
It's Bakhtiari's most recent setback after only appearing in 13 games since his initial injury and making just one appearance each in 2021 and 2023.
He spent more than 35 minutes taking reporters through everything in the Packers' locker room, saying, "When it rains, it pours, and for me, it's been a pretty significant storm."
At the time of his original ACL tear, doctors were aware of cartilage damage at the end of his femur, but there was a chance he might not be harmed by it at all, according to Bakhtiari.
His pain and frequent fluid buildup were actually caused by the surface of his femur not being "smooth," but it took several additional knee scopes and medical difficulties, including an appendectomy in December, to confirm this.
"We knew about the issue when it had happened," Bakhtiari said. "And the whole goal was, well, let's even see if you're a symptomatic individual. You could easily not. There's plenty of individuals, a lot of other football players that have this, and they're totally fine.
"When they realized, OK, clearly this what is creating our problem. We can definitely say it wasn't the other things now that we've cleaned those out. OK, now this is where we are currently at."
Although Bakhtiari remained mum about the date of his planned surgery, he was open about almost all other aspects of his recuperation process. He said his knee felt like "sandpaper" and that he had broken records for having fluid drained.
"It's unfortunate. I hate it," he said. "I know the club hates it. It's just not a great situation for anyone to deal with. The human side of it is, it took a lot of stress, a lot of time on my end, but the clarity is to know that we finally know what the problem is and we can address the problem. That's the glass half-full part of the scenario."
While it is evident what needs to be done to fix his problematic knee, Bakhtiari's future with Green Bay is as cloudy as his week-to-week status has so frequently been in the years following his injury.
Bakhtiari is one of the NFL's top left tackles when he's in good health. Even in Week 1's matchup with the Bears, when he got an 89.9 PFF pass blocking grade and allowed no sacks or pressures, that was evident. However, his cap hit will increase to $40.5 million from $21.2 million the next year, and even at $19 million, his dead cap would be the lowest it has been since he signed his agreement only a month before the ACL injury.
The Packers, who have one of the league's youngest rosters, will have to make a choice in 2024 as they continue to prepare for the next era under Jordan Love.
32-year-old Bakhtiari is aware of that, the NFL wrote.
"I think everything is on the table like I said earlier," he told reporters. "For me, I can only control what I can control. Making sure I attack the rehab, win the day, take the bites out of that elephant, finish the elephant and then decide and see. They have decisions they need to make, what's best for their franchise. I understood that the moment I got in here."
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