David Bakhtiari Doesn't Need Practice

 

David Bakhtiari Doesn't Need Practice

            David Bakhtiari (Bak) began his 2023 season against the Bears in basically perfect fashion.

            Bakhtiari allowed zero pressures while protecting Jordan Love in Love’s first season start. The whole offensive line deserves credit for providing Jordan Love ample time in the pocket to make plays and reads.

            But Bak stands out for other reasons, after coming off an ACL injury at the end of the 2020 season he has been battling to get back to his full all-pro potential.

            He has been in and out of the lineup since the injury happened, only playing in 12 games since 2020. You could definitely sense the frustration that Bakhtiari was feeling trying to get back into the lineup. 

            But coming into Sunday’s game against the Bears, he hadn’t practiced basically the whole month of August. This brings up the question, after his performance on Sunday and the injury history does David Bakhtiari need to practice?

            No, he really doesn’t.

            Bak was an all-pro for four years from 2016 to 2020 in the league. He has tenure, he’s proven, and was playing his best football before the injury ultimately happened.

            The point I’m trying to make is that I want to see his reps in the game and not on the practice field. Obviously he's gonna participate in pieces of practice such as walk-throughs and workouts. But he doesn't need hard practices that could possibly burn out his knee as we saw how that went last season.

 Being a lineman in the NFL is a very physical job and the Packers and Bak must be on the same page.  Bakhtiari isn’t old, but he isn’t getting any younger.

I hope we get a full season out of Bak in 2023 in Green Bay. His level of play and most importantly his leadership are essential for this young Packers team going forward.

Real Packer fans know.🧀