Bakhtiari out for season
Packers’ Pro Bowl offensive tackle injured knee during practice
Green Bay Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari will miss the rest of the season after the three-time Pro Bowl selection injured his knee in practice Thursday.
Packers coach Matt Lafleur confirmed the severity of the injury Friday. The injury comes six weeks after the standout left tackle agreed to terms on a four-year contract worth up to $105.5 million with a $30 million signing bonus.
“It’s just one of those unfortunate, freak things that happens sometimes in practice,” Lafleur said. “It was certainly nobody’s fault. It was a freaky deal, and you know, it’s tough to replace a guy of his caliber. I mean, you’re talking about a premier left tackle in this league.”
The injury was first reported by NFL Network.
Bakhtiari played a major role in helping the Packers (12-3) win a second straight NFC North title and score a leagueleading 31.6 points per game. The 2013 fourth-round pick from Colorado was one of seven Packers selected to the Pro Bowl last week. He was a second-team Associated Press All-pro pick last year.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Friday he was “still kind of in the grieving process” after learning Bakhtiari wouldn’t return this season.
Bakhtiari’s injury will force Green Bay to shuffle its offensive line once again as it heads to Chicago (8-7) in a game with major implications for both teams.
Green Bay can earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs plus a first-round bye if it beats or ties the Bears, or if San Francisco (6-9) beats or ties Seattle (11-4). Chicago can clinch a playoff berth with a victory.
Bills:
Buffalo activated wide receiver John Brown off the Reserve/covid list on Friday, clearing the way for him to return if Sean Mcdermott chooses to play him on Sunday in the season finale. Brown, 30, hasn’t played since Week 10 after going on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Giants: New York announced Friday morning that they’d been informed that offensive line coach Dave Deguglielmo has tested positive for COVID-19. He was immediately isolated, as were two potential close contacts, and the Giants were working with the league’s chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills. The close contacts are coaches and staff - not players - according to head coach Joe Judge. The team’s facility remained open, and the team was following its normal Friday practice and meeting schedule.
Browns: Cleveland rang in the new year by practicing. With everything else that transpired over the past week, that was a major victory. They’ll go for an even bigger one Sunday. After days of positive COVID-19 tests, disruptions and delays, the Browns found some normalcy and reopened their facility on Friday to resume getting ready to play the Pittsburgh Steelers and possibly end a postseason drought stretching back to 2002.
Chargers: Los Angeles will be without six starters, including both of their Pro Bowl selections, for Sunday’s season finale at Kansas City. Wide receiver Keenan Allen (hamstring) has been placed on the reserve/covid-19 list. Tight end Hunter Henry will miss his second straight game as he remains on the COVID-19 list. Defensive end Joey
Bosa is out for the second straight week due to a concussion and shin injury. Offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga (foot), cornerback Casey Hayward Jr. (hamstring) and safety Rayshawn Jenkins (foot) have also been ruled out. Jaguars: Jacksonville will be without receiver DJ Chark (shin) for their season finale at Indianapolis on Sunday. Raiders: Darren Waller has come a long way in just over two years since the Raiders plucked him off Baltimore’s practice squad. After nearly ruining his career because of a drug addiction, Waller has turned into one of the game’s most productive tight ends and is closing in on the franchise record for catches in a season. Waller heads into Sunday’s season finale at Denver with 98 catches for 1,079 yards for Las Vegas (7-8). Waller has posted backto-back 1,000-yard seasons and needs seven catches to break Hall of Famer Tim Brown’s single-season franchise record of 104 set in 1997.
Saints: New Orleans placed running back Alvin Kamara, who leads the club in both yards rushing and receiving, on their COVID-19 reserve list. The move means Kamara is unavailable for Sunday’s regular-season finale at Carolina and also could miss the Saints’ first playoff game if New Orleans is unable to move up to the NFC’S top seed. Seahawks: Seattle will rest veteran tight end Greg Olsen for Sunday’s regular-season finale against San Francisco. Seattle also could be without right tackle Brandon Shell (COVID contact tracing) and running back Carlos Hyde (NON-COVID-19 illness) against the 49ers.