David Bakhtiari has been a fan favorite in Green Bay since he was drafted in 2013. There’s been very few offensive lineman in the NFL that have captured the hearts of NFL fans the way that #69 has. Even taking that into account, it is impossible to ignore what has been going on recently with his injury.
Packers coaching staff has said he participating with the rehab group is all precautionary. Those precautionary measures will seemingly continue into training camp as he was placed on the PUP list.
Salary Cap Implications:
Bakhtiari’s cap hit for 2022 is just shy of $13 million, a drop of $9.264 million from his previous number after the Packers restructured his contract. That additional money will be spread evenly from 2023 through 2026, with 2025 and 2026 newly added as void years.
Bakhtiari’s cap hits in 2023 and 2024 now become even more enormous, with his deal charging $28.58 million in 2023 and $32.58 million in 2024. Those numbers are massive, even for the best LT in the NFL. They’re down right unacceptable for a player who may not even be on the field. So what’s the deal if Green Bay cuts him? Not good. According to Ken Ingalls they’d save $1.15 million on the cap in 2022… However eat a $23.13 million dead cap hit in 2023. That is NOT good.
Do they have any other options?
Trade or restructure seems to be the only options left. Even then, both seem like a long shot. Green Bay likely wouldn’t get enough in return to justify trading arguably the best LT in the game with his contract and injury situation. They’ve already restructured Bakhtiari’s contract once. They would certainly have to ask him to take a pretty sizable pay cut if they wanted to do it again. To be honest, Green Bay’s best bet is to have #69 get healthy and play.
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