Packers have not made decision on David Bakhtiari yet, but it’s coming soon

Brian Gutekunst said he hasn’t made the call yet on Bakhtiari’s future with the Packers, but all signs point to a release in the next few weeks.

The single biggest decision that the Green Bay Packers can make this offseason in terms of salary cap space revolves around left tackle David Bakhtiari. The embattled All-Pro tackle is heading into the final year of a contract extension he signed late in the 2020 season — just weeks before he tore his ACL in practice, an injury that has haunted him for the past three years.

Due to various salary cap-related machinations, Bakhtiari is currently scheduled to carry a cap hit of just over $40 million in 2024, a number that is clearly untenable with the Packers set to be just a few million dollars under the cap when the new league year begins on March 13th. Releasing Bakhtiari, on the other hand, would leave the Packers with approximately $19 million in dead money, opening up almost $21 million in useable cap space.

As expected, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is acutely aware of the impact that Bakhtiari’s cap hit will have on his roster. And with Gutekunst having expressed an interest in being active in this year’s free agent market, he knows that Bakhtiari remaining on the Packers’ roster at that number is impractical — especially when the tackle has played just 13 of a possible 56 games since his injury.

That leaves the GM with basically two options: release Bakhtiari outright or try to work out a contract extension. The latter option will be a challenge, however, given the ongoing uncertainty of Bakhtiari’s medical situation.

Speaking to local reporters before his formal press conference at the 2024 NFL Combine on Tuesday, Gutekunst acknowledged that he will need to make the call on Bakhtiari, sooner rather than later. However, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, he has not done so yet mainly because “he doesn’t like to make decisions before he has to.”

Still, that deadline is coming up quickly, on March 13th — or, more likely, a few days earlier so the Packers can define their financial position for the start of free agent negotiations on March 11th. Gutekunst also acknowledged that the necessary timing of the team’s decision is unfortunate, given that Bakhtiari’s re-repaired knee will not be recovered yet.

Further complicating the decision is the emergence of Rasheed Walker as a viable — perhaps even a quality — NFL starter at left tackle. The 2022 seventh-round did not see the field at all as a rookie, but he made 17 starts last season (including playoffs) and steadily improved as the season rolled along.

For his part, Gutekunst believes that Walker is capable of being a long-term starting left tackle now. When asked if Walker can be the team’s #1 left tackle, he responded “I certainly think he’s already shown that.”

The combination of the Packers’ financial picture, the fact that the front office feels good about a potential successor, and the ongoing uncertainty around Bakhtiari’s knee points to the team moving on from the veteran tackle in the next few weeks. It will surely be a painful decision for the organization to make — after all, Bakhtiari was either a first- or second-team All-Pro for five straight seasons before his injury — but it’s one that is probably necessary heading into a crucial offseason.