GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers All Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari‘s return from the torn ACL in his left knee has hit another snag.
More than a year and a half removed from his injury, he’s still not in the clear. Bakhtiari was placed on the physically unable to perform list Saturday, according to ESPN’s Field Yates, meaning he almost certainly won’t be on the field when the Packers hold their first training camp practice on Wednesday.
Bakhtiari was injured in practice Dec. 31, 2020. It took more than a year for him to return to game action following his initial surgery. He played 27 snaps in last year’s regular-season finale — his only game action of the 2021 season — but then was shut down for the playoffs.
The Packers held him out of all OTA and minicamp practices this offseason, allowing Bakhtiari to work with the group of players rehabbing from injuries. As recently as June, Packers coach Matt LaFleur said the hope was that Bakhtiari would be ready for the start of training camp.
“Our plan all along was to hold him from [offseason workouts] and make sure he’s continuing to get stronger and ready to go hopefully for training camp,” LaFleur said. “We just thought that this is a guy that’s played a lot of ball and it’s best to hold him from this portion of it.”
Bakhtiari returned to practice briefly last fall but then underwent a second surgery to help reduce swelling in his knee. That delayed his return until the Week 18 game against the Lions.
It’s unclear whether Bakhtiari had another procedure done this offseason.
The Packers placed nine players on PUP on Friday, but Bakhtiari was not one of them. They were: WR Christian Watson, TE Robert Tonyan, G/T Elgton Jenkins, K Mason Crosby, DE Dean Lowry, RB Kylin Hill, DL Hauati Pututau, OLB Randy Ramsey and RB Patrick Taylor.
