Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Packers have to feel good about health
Detroit — There’s a good chance the Green Bay Packers will finally have their left tackle back for the playoffs.
David Bakhtiari made his season debut Sunday in a game that didn’t matter in the NFL standings but could matter to the Packers’ postseason prospects.
As we’ve seen over the past two months, nothing is a given with Bakhtiari’s recovery from ACL surgery 53 weeks ago. But in 27 snaps before he pulled himself from the game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Bakhtiari looked good. Whatever rust the ninthyear pro felt after not playing in a game since December 2020, it didn’t show in any noticeable way Sunday.
As long as he doesn’t have too much fluid buildup in his knee in the coming days, or any other red-flag complications, it’s looking like Bakhtiari will be ready for the Packers’ divisional round playoff game in two weeks. That’s one All-Pro back in the lineup, even if he won’t be in midseason form.
“I liked where my feet were, I liked where my hands were, all things considered,” Bakhtiari said after the game. “Obviously some things to work on, some things to feel out. But I was very pleased with 20-something reps.”
Really, if this is the baseline for Bakhtiari’s play post-injury, the Packers should put him out there. Even at less than full strength, he’s their best option at left tackle, and that’s taking nothing from Yosh Nijman performance as the No. 3 left tackle. If the Packers end up having to go back to Nijman in the playoffs, he’ll give them a fighting chance, which is something we didn’t know five months ago.
But based on Sunday, with Bakhtiari matched mostly against Lions outside rusher Charles Harris (71⁄2 sacks for the season), he looked good enough to allay concerns he won’t be sharp enough. Harris had only one rush where he got any kind of pressure, and that was on an inside move where Rodgers could have bolted outside the pocket if he hadn’t
gotten rid of the ball quickly.
“He makes the team better,” Aaron Rodgers said of Bakhtiari afterward.
Bakhtiari in fact said he’d have been fine not playing until the playoffs if necessary, but after Rodgers texted him early last week saying something to the effect of, “I’d love for you to be out there,” Bakhtiari hit the practice field hoping to give it a shot against the Lions.
Bakhtiari’s comeback from knee-reconstruction surgery took a little longer than usual — he’d expected to be back sometime in November — because his knee was building up excessive fluid every week after he began practicing. Arthroscopic surgery in late November seems to have alleviated the issue. So after practicing Wednesday, taking Thursday as a rest day, then practicing again Friday, Bakhtiari felt ready to play.
“I think it was more for him than me,” Bakhtiari said of Rodgers.
Assuming Bakhtiari has no issues in the coming days and is the starter at left tackle in two weeks, it’s still unclear what the rest of the offensive line will be. Rookie center Josh Myers also returned to the starting lineup Sunday from a two-month layoff from knee surgery,
but that doesn’t mean he’ll be the starter in the playoff opener.
Myers has nothing like Bakhtiari’s backlog of NFL snaps to draw on, and in the last two months he’s missed valuable experience as the point man on the line. He’s a bigger, stouter blocker than Lucas Patrick, but Patrick is a fifth-year veteran who has a lot more experience deciphering defensive fronts and communicating with his line mates.
Viewed live, Myers appeared to perform fine, but it sounds like coach Matt LaFleur and offensive line coach Adam Stenavich will have to think about whether Myers will be the starter in a win-or-go-home game in two weeks. LaFleur said Myers started Sunday because coming off the injury he didn’t want the center to cool down after warm-ups and then go into the game as a replacement. Myers played the entire first half.
“We will reevaluate everything moving forward,” LaFleur said.
With Bakhtiari and Myers back in the starting lineup, the Packers moved Patrick to right guard in place of rookie Royce Newman. When Myers left the game, Patrick bumped to center and
Newman replaced him at right guard.
So it looks like Patrick will be in the starting lineup either way, the question is whether it will be at center or right guard.
Regardless, it looks like at least one of the three stars the Packers have played without for most or all of this season will be back for the playoffs.
There’s also a decent chance they’ll get back cornerback Jaire Alexander back from his shoulder injury as at least a part-time player. Had he not hit the COVID-19 list last week and not returned to practice until Friday, he appeared to be on schedule to play against the Lions.
The Packers might choose to play Alexander in a limited role in their playoff opener, such as dime cornerback, which would probably mean about 15 snaps. But he will have two more weeks to get ready after his three-month absence, so you never know what plans defensive coordinator Joe Barry might have.
That leaves outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith, who underwent back surgery after the regular-season opener. He hasn’t even practiced, so the prospects of his return aren’t promising. Unless he’s back at practice this week, it seems a given he won’t play in the divisional round, and after that there would be only two more possible games left in the playoffs.
All in all, the Packers have to feel a little better about the health of their team now that the regular season is a wrap. LaFleur got plenty of work for his starters Sunday — Rodgers played all but the final snap of the first half — and had two players leave the game because of injuries: receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (back) and nickel cornerback Chandon Sullivan (knee). LaFleur had no update on the severity.
The Packers now have the luxury of being the only NFC playoff team at home relaxing next weekend during the wildcard round of the playoffs. Of course, they had the same luxury last season and were knocked off in the NFC championship game.
“It is great having the road to the Super Bowl going through Lambeau,” LaFleur said, “but as we learned last year that doesn’t guarantee anything.”