Packers Thursday Injury Report: ‘Fluid’ Future for Bakhtiari

An All-Pro starter returned to practice for the Packers on Thursday but receivers Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks were out again.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – One Green Bay Packers All-Pro starter returned to practice on Thursday. It was linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, not left tackle David Bakhtiari.

Campbell missed the last two weeks of practice due to an ankle injury sustained before the joint practices against the New England Patriots. On Thursday, he went through individual drills during the portion of practice open to reporters.

A team captain last year, Campbell was unable to replicate his 2021 All-Pro production, but the defense hit its stride during the final five games upon returning from a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, Bakhtiari was out again. What’s the plan as he gets ready to start his first season-opening game since 2020?

“I think it’s going to be fluid. I think we’ve learned that by now,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Thursday’s practice.

Bakhtiari said he likes where he’s trending heading into the season, despite taking limited snaps during training camp. His major concern wasn’t with how he was feeling but for having to put LaFleur through frequent questions that sometimes lack concrete answers.

“The most important thing is let’s just get me at my best for when it matters the most. Anything else is a bonus,” Bakhtiari said. “I was pulling a little bit with it but I agree with it. We’re at a good point. That’s the situation. I commend Matt. It’s not easy having you guys always asking him every day and he sometimes doesn’t even know, which is tough.

“At times, the perception doesn’t look great on him but when it’s genuinely so up in the air, it really is, ‘Hey, are we going [to practice]?’

“‘Yeah I’m in.’

“‘Hey, are we doing today. Are you going?’

“‘It’s probably not smart.’

“‘OK, cool.’”

“That is how simple but how complicated it can be. I would love, just for Matt, probably to stop asking him about it because I know it sucks. Is it really that big of a deal? I’ve played for this is my 11th season. You guys have been around here long enough that you’ve seen plenty of guys not practice, either. Is it that important? No.”

It’s not an ideal scenario but Bakhtiari’s value to the team is enormous. Not many players can perform brilliantly with limited practice reps, but that’s what Bakhtiari did last season, when he allowed zero sacks in 11 starts.

Bakhtiari’s career was turned upside-down when he suffered a torn ACL at practice on Dec. 31, 2020. The injury perhaps kept the Packers out of the Super Bowl that year. Moreover, it held him out of most of 2021 and the first two games of 2022.

During training camp this summer, he didn’t play in the preseason and practiced only sporadically. For instance, he practiced on the Thursday of joint practices against New England and didn’t practice again until the Thursday before the preseason finale against Seattle.

This week, he didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday as the team heads into its league-mandated three-day break.

LaFleur wouldn’t provide an inkling about this year’s plan for Bakhtiari. That’s because the plan will be driven by how Bakhtiari feels on any given day.

“Yeah, he did a really nice job,” LaFleur said of Bakhtiari’s performance last season on limited practice reps. Then, he added the phrase du jour. “It’ll be fluid.”

One addition to the report from Wednesday: Starting safety Darnell Savage was present but did not practice. Receivers Romeo Doubs (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (hamstring) and offensive tackle Luke Tenuta (ankle) did not practice again.

Wicks, who went through an aggressive on-field rehab session on Wednesday, ran with Doubs between the offensive and defensive sides of the practice field. Tenuta figures to land on injured reserve on Thursday.

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