Source: Bakhtiari Headed to PUP

All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari will miss at least the first six games of the season following last year's torn ACL.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ offensive line is crystalizing.

As reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, a source said the team is going to put All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari on the physically unable to perform list. That’s where he spent all of training camp and that’s where he’ll spend at least the first six weeks of the regular season. PUP means Bakhtiari won’t count on the 53-man roster. It also means he can’t even start practicing until before the Week 7 game against Washington. That timetable could mean Bakhtiari will miss half the season.

Why not injured reserve, which would have kept him on the sideline for a minimum of three weeks? According to the source, for Bakhtiari to come off Active PUP (the preseason designation), he would have to pass a physical. Obviously, Bakhtiari couldn’t pass a physical and then wind up on injured reserve. So, he will start on Reserve PUP.

“Those discussions, those conversations are ongoing and we’re going to do what’s best for David and this football team,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Sunday. The line "what's best for David" indicated a cautious approach.

Tuesday is exactly eight months since Bakhtiari went down at practice. For reference, in 2018, former Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga was activated from his ACL tear three days shy of ninth months.

“I think it’s a fine line," Bakhtiari said of pushing his rehab work. "That’s kind of what I figured out. I hadn’t really had any big injuries. This is definitely my biggest injury. It really kid of depends. There’s certain days where you can’t really do too much. You’re kind of figuring out. I think the best rehab is the one that adjusts constantly on the fly, so how much your body can tolerate, because you want to basically toe the line without crossing it. Once you do, you kind of set yourself back and you don’t want to be in that position, so I think we’ve done a great job here and with the people I was working with back in California, have done a good job. I’ve been pleased. I guess this is something I can tell you guys. I haven’t had any hiccups so that’s nice. I’m kind of staying the course.”

The Packers probably would have gone to the Super Bowl had Bakhtiari been in the lineup. There’s no way the Buccaneers would have sacked Aaron Rodgers five times if it were Bakhtiari at left tackle and Billy Turner at right tackle instead of Turner at left tackle and Rick Wagner at right tackle.

Before the injury, Bakhtiari was having a brilliant year. He earned All-Pro honors for the fifth consecutive season and recently was named No. 36 in NFL Network's annual list of the top 100 players in the NFL.

There might be better pass-protecting left tackles. There might be better run-blocking left tackles. But nobody is as good in both phases as Bakhtiari.

Pro Football Focus charged him with one sack and nine total pressures compared to two sacks and 37 total pressures in 2019. For more of an apples-to-apples comparison, Bakhtiari allowed a pressure on 2.02 percent of passing plays this season compared to 4.86 percent last year. Among offensive tackles, he ranked second in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap.

Sports Info Solutions charged him with zero stuffs (a tackle at or behind the line) on running plays. SIS defines a “blown block” as “any time a blocker does not successfully block the defender they attempted to engage with and, as a result, gives the defender an opportunity to negatively affect the play.” Bakhtiari’s blown-block rate of 0.6 percent was the best among offensive tackles.

Along with the release of Ben Braden, that presumably means the starting five will be Elgton Jenkins, Lucas Patrick, Josh Myers, Royce Newman and Billy Turner. Dennis Kelly, a 10-year pro who started at right tackle for Tennessee last season, Yosh Nijman, who had an impressive training camp at left tackle, and Jon Runyan, who competed for the spot at left guard all summer, will be three of the backups. Center Jake Hanson, a sixth-round pick with Runyan last year, could be the ninth.

Jenkins had an excellent training camp after moving from his customary spot at left guard. However, the Packers won't be as good at left tackle with Jenkins and they won't be as good at left guard with Patrick (or Runyan) in place of Jenkins. Moreover, they probably won't be as good at center with rookie Josh Myers replacing All-Pro Corey Linsley.

Sixth-round draft pick Cole Van Lanen was released, as was Ben Braden and Jacob Capra.