There are many Green Bay Packers fans who are not thrilled that David Bakhtiari is still on the team. To them, the fact that it took him over a year to get back on the playing field is not acceptable. However, this is the real world and it is not dictated by posts in Packers fan groups.
Nor is the real world dictated by media-created trade rumors, especially ones that start by analyzing an Instagram post in which Aaron Rodgers tags David Bakhtiari’s handle across his butt.
In short, there have been a plethora of rumors and scenarios floated around this week that the Packers would be open to trading Bakhtiari to the New York Jets or somewhere else. Those rumors can be put to rest after what general manager Brian Gutekunst said in his press conference today.
The Green Bay Packers Are Not Trading David Bakhtiari
Towards the end of his press conference, Gutekunst was asked about Bakhtiari and his thoughts regarding what kind of camp he is having and what he has had to go through. Gutekunst responded to that question, but he wanted to get one thing clear first:
“First of all, we’re not going to trade David. So just get that out of the way.”
He went onto say that Bakhtiari’s knee is fine and that he is healthy. The reason that Bakhtiari gets days off is in order to keep him that way. This is not a wild or unusual approach either. Marcedes Lewis was given the same treatment last year in order to keep him fresh on game days.
Of course, a big decision on Bakhtiari will have to be made after the season. He will have a cap hit north of $40 million and a dead cap hit of “just” $19 million.
There is no way that the Packers will allow Bakhtiari to finish the contract with a $40 million cap hit. Therefore, they two parties have two options. The first is that Green Bay cuts Bakhtiari and he becomes a free agent. The other is that the Packers’ extend him.
Both of these choices have their pros and cons, but it will be impossible for them to decide which route to take until they see him play in 2023.
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