The Green Bay Packers reportedly suffered a huge loss as the team prepares for their regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears. On Thursday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Packers star left tackle David Bakhtiari suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice. The belief is that he tore his ACL, which will unfortunately cause Bakhtiari to miss the Packers' 2020 postseason run. Bakhtiari was a surprise addition to the Thursday injury report, as the Packers said that he was a limited participant with a knee injury, but the team offered no other details.
In November, Bakhtiari agreed to a four-year extension worth up to $105.5 million. The deal made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in league history with an average base salary of $23 million. Bakhtiari was originally drafted by the Packers in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Colorado, and has made three Pro Bowls. This season was just the third in his career where he failed to start in all 16 games.
Bakhtiari has been one of the best pass-blocking tackles in the NFL this season. According to PFF, he has allowed just one sack on 420 snaps when protecting Aaron Rodgers in the pocket.
Rodgers is certainly going to miss having the All-Pro tackle protecting his blind side, but as Rapoport notes, the Packers do have some options when it comes to replacing him. Right tackle Billy Turner, left guard Elgton Jenkins or Rick Wagner could step up. Regardless, this is a huge blow to a Packers team that has their sights set on winning a Lombardi Trophy.
