Patriots Urged to Add Former Packers All-Pro

The New England Patriots are being urged to sign this former Green Bay Packers star.

Nov 27, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Green Bay Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari (69) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots have a whole lot of needs up and down their roster, but one of their most pressing areas of concern is their offensive line.

The Patriots have one of the worst offensive line units in football, which is not exactly a recipe for success for rookie quarterback Drake Maye (although he has managed well in spite of it).

Obviously, New England will have to wait until the offseason to really address the problem, but Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine doesn't see any reason why they can't make an addition now.

More specifically, he is urging the Pats to sign former Green Bay Packers tackle David Bakhtiari.

"There are several flawed veterans who remain unsigned," Ballentine wrote. "David Bakhtiari, Donovan Smith and Charles Leno highlight the names. Giving their agents a call to see if they are healthy and in shape would be a good idea."

The fact that Bakhtiari remains without a home so deep into the season is wild.

Yes, the 33-year-old has dealt with a whole lot of injury issues the past several years and played in just 13 games between 2021 and 2023 (with 11 of those contests coming in 2022), but when healthy, he has proven to be one of the best offensive tackles in the sport.

Bakhtiari was originally selected by the Packers in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft and spent the first 11 years of his career in Green Bay, making three trips to the Pro Bowl while earning a pair of First-Team All-Pro selections. He was also named a Second-Team All-Pro thrice.

At this point, what do the Patriots have to lose? It's not like they have any better in-house options available, so it absolutely would not hurt to give Bakhtiari a try over their final six games of the season.

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