David Bakhtiari: An early surgery ‘would have saved us 2 years’

“Everyone understood, it was just like I don’t think they understood like the magnitude. I think some information was displayed not properly. I think it was more of miscommunication.”

Last week, former Green Bay Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari joined ESPN’s Wilde & Tausch to discuss how the bookend’s story in Green Bay came to a close. Obviously, much of the discussion revolved around the tackle’s 2020 ACL injury, which ended up limiting him to just 13 regular season games played over the following three seasons.

Bakhtiari’s 2023 campaign was shut down after just one game, when Bakhtiari made the decision to have surgery on his knee after experiencing pain due to a cartilage issue. Back in February, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst stated that the team would “see where [Bakhtiari’s] at” with his recovery as the new league year approached. Ultimately, the team let go of Bakhtiari, who commanded a cap hit north of $40 million in 2024 — which would have been the biggest cap hit for any non-quarterback in NFL history.

When the team released the Colorado product, the Packers designated Bakhtiari with a failed physical. According to the tackle, though, there were signs that the organization had moved on from him well before that testing date. Bakhtiari told the radio show he “Saw the writing on the wall. Saw the non-verbal actions displayed to me when I decided to put my health first.”

Per Bakhtiari, there was a level of miscommunication that may have caused a rift between the two sides.

“Everyone understood, it was just like I don’t think they understood like the magnitude. I think some information was displayed not properly. I think it was more of miscommunication.”

The former All-Pro later admitted that “if we had to do it again” he “probably would have [had his most recent surgery] the first time” and that it could have “saved us two years of trying to work around something.” Bakhtiari wouldn’t state what type of surgery he had, likely on November 8th, but he did say that he’s about halfway out from his surgery in the recovery process.

When Wilde and Tausch asked Bakhtiari what advice he would have given to his younger self now that he’s gone through this process, he said, “Don’t listen to my coaches as much. Stop being a player’s coach. Not be practicing in full pads on a Thursday in Week 17 when we’ve already locked up the 1 seed.” He also added that the Packers “enjoy throwing guys out there” and that hopes he was “the final straw” for the coaching staff.

You can find the full interview linked below: