Packers release David Bakhtiari: Does the 5-time All-Pro OT have more left?

The Green Bay Packers have released left tackle David Bakhtiari, the veteran offensive lineman announced via social media Monday.

A lot of emotion in this. I just want to say THANK YOU Green Bay. Thank you for the last 11 years. It’s been a hell of a run. I always wanted to raise a Lombardi on Lombardi avenue, but I will never complain. I gave it my all. I always gave it my best no matter the circumstance… pic.twitter.com/dnc7gkKSAC

— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) March 11, 2024

Bakhtiari, whom the Packers drafted in the fourth round in 2013 and made the then-highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history in 2020, was their longest-tenured player before his release. He is a five-time All-Pro selection and surefire first-ballot Packers Hall of Famer four years after whenever he retires.

The release of Bakhtiari frees up about $21 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap, while leaving a dead-money hit of approximately $19 million.

Bakhtiari, 32, was on track for the Pro Football Hall of Fame — he made those five All-Pro teams in consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2021 — before tearing his ACL in practice on Dec. 31, 2020, while preparing for a Week 17 game against the Chicago Bears. Bakhtiari has proven to still be elite when healthy, but he’s only played in 13 of a possible 57 games since the injury, in part because of recurring issues with his knee.

He played in only one game in 2023, Week 1 against the Bears, before shutting it down for the season.

Bakhtiari’s social media posts have indicated he still wants to play and believes he’ll finally be in the clear of his knee problems after whatever surgeries he had since his 11th NFL season ended in September. That 12th season won’t come with the only team for which he’s ever played, though, and Green Bay must determine who’s next on quarterback Jordan Love’s blind side.

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The two most likely scenarios are starting Rasheed Walker at left tackle or picking someone on the first two days of the draft to compete with Walker and potentially start Week 1. Walker, a 2022 seventh-round pick, played about 78 percent of the Packers’ offensive snaps last season. General manager Brian Gutekunst said at the NFL Scouting Combine in February he wants competition along the offensive line but expressed confidence in Walker being the guy at left tackle.

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(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)