Packers All-Pro David Bakhtiari to start the 2021 season on PUP list, per report

Bakhtiari is still recovering from an ACL tear suffered in December

While there was internal hope he would be available for the season-opener, Packers All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari will remain on the team's physically unable to perform list, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Bakhtiari is still working his way back from a torn ACL sustained during practice on Dec. 31. 

Bakhtiari will miss the Packers' first six games of the 2021 season. During that stretch, Green Bay will face New Orleans, Detroit, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Chicago. Filling in for Bakhtiari will be Elgton Jenkins, a Pro Bowl guard who has temporarily moved over to tackle. 

"He's just an exceptional player," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Jenkins during training camp, via USA Today. "There's not much he can't do. We could probably line him up at tight end … and maybe we will. He's a phenomenal football player, and I think [offensive line coach and run game coordinator] Adam Stenavich and [assistant offensive line coach] Luke Butkus do such a great job with that entire room, but ultimately, those guys have to take it upon themselves, and he certainly does."

While Jenkins will start the season at tackle, Bakhtiari will continue to rehab with the hope of being back on the field for Green Bay's Week 7 home game against Washington. A fourth-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Bakhtiari is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro. Bakhtiari also ranked 27th on CBS Sports NFL senior writer Pete Prisco's annual list of the league's top-100 players. 

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