David Bakhtiari (Photo by Dan Powers/USA Today Sports Images)
Bakhtiari Adjusting to New Regimen
David Bakhtiari had it made in Green Bay. He was an All-Pro player, protecting the blindside of one of his best friends on a team contending for the Super Bowl.
Everything changed on Dec. 31, 2020.
Bakhtiari injured his knee at practice and was out for the rest of the season. Had he been healthy, who knows if the Packers would have won either of the next two Super Bowls.
Instead, Bakhtiari had to practice patience. He wasn’t able to get on the field save for one game in 2021.
He spent the majority of the last two offseasons rehabbing. Once he returned for good from the injury, he was put on an alternative practice plan. He rarely, if ever, practiced all three days in the week leading up to a game.
This offseason was different. Bakhtiari was able to participate in team drills at OTAs and minicamp, a massive step in the right direction for what he and the Packers hope is a healthy 2023.
Bakhtiari will still have to adjust to a modified plan. That will probably be how his practice regimen works for the rest of his career.
That being said, this season will be a different look with Bakhtiari being able to participate more.
“I feel good,” Bakhtiari said after practice on Friday. “I’m not going to be like a fortune-teller or anything, but I think we’re finally in a spot that I think the team and I understand what we need to do. We’re on the same page. Trust is a big thing.
“And then, like I’ve said, finally having an offseason of not having surgeries, the ability to let everything kind of calm down, settle in, train, put on muscle, protect the knee. I’m very grateful and thankful for where I’m at and I’m just kind of excited to see what happens. Football is football. It’s not the healthiest thing in the world, so we’ll see when we get out there.”
When he was out there last year, he was productive.
Bakhtiari started 11 games last year and did not allow a sack. That was despite moving in and out of practice, and missing extra time with an appendectomy that knocked him out of three games late in the season.
When he returned to the lineup, he was rock solid. As coach Matt LaFleur told reporters earlier in the week, the Packers are a better football team with Bakhtiari on the field.
Bakhtiari knows that and knows things are different now, which is why he’s buying into the new precautions being taken with him.
“I got age working against me, too, now, so it’s like double edged,” he said. “I mean, I’ve always said this: I have expectations for myself and how I want to play. Any time I go out there, I want to put my brand of ball out there. Different year, but same goals always apply with me and what I want to set out there, so when I’m out there I want to put out my standard and my brand.”
Bakhtiari’s standard and brand was one of the best tackles in all of football. A five-time All-Pro, he was universally acknowledged as one of best left tackles in football.
Whether because of injury or a lack of spotlight, Bakhtiari has fallen off those lists. He was not mentioned as a top tackle in ESPN’s list of top players at the position. He did not make the PFN Top-100 list, either.
It doesn’t bother Bakhtiari, but he knows he enters 2023 with something to prove.
“Probably a little bit,” Bakhtiari said when asked if he’s bothered by not being on those lists, “but I think the older you get, you can kind of get a little bit wiser. You kind of understand there’s a lot more that goes into it than just pure talent.
“For me, the biggest thing, what do your peers say? How do they really feel? And when I mean peers is like your actual peers when you talk to them in person. So, sure, a tiny bit. But there’s so many other things that go into the list. I think the main thing for players is like, yeah, you should definitely make yourself work to be undeniable to be on that list no matter what because, obviously, you’re on multiple lists, clearly you’re doing something right.”
With a new ability to practice and finally being over the hump of the injury, perhaps Bakhtiari will find his way back on those lists for 2024.
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