The Green Bay Packers will be spending the first six weeks of the 2021 season without their All-Pro left tackle.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, David Bakhtiari will remain on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list for the Packers heading into the new season, meaning he will not be eligible to return until Week 7 at the earliest. The 29-year-old left tackle has been working back from an ACL tear that ended his 2020 season just before the regular-season finale, but the Packers have been reluctant to share a specific timeline on when they expected him to return to the lineup.
The Packers will now presumably move over Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins to cover Bakhtiari’s reps at left tackle until he is cleared to return; although, Billy Turner and Dennis Kelly (depending on his injury and roster status) could also be called upon to fulfill the role.
For those hoping Bakhtiari might return sooner, the Packers didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. A player is not allowed to come off the PUP list without first passing his physical, and that player cannot then be placed on injured reserve (from which players can return after a minimum of three weeks) for the same injury. Either Bakhtiari was going to be healthy for Week 1 or remain on the PUP list for the start of the 2021 season.
Given his injury designation, Bakhtiari will not be able to play or practice until Week 7 ahead of the Packers’ home game against the Washington Football Team on October 24, and that’s assuming he will be ready to return to action with only a few practices under his belt. Until then, it falls on the roster of Green Bay’s offensive line to pick up the slack.
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