On Monday, the Green Bay Packers released offensive tackle David Bakhtiari. He has spent all 11 seasons of his NFL career with the Packers.
“A lot of emotion in this,” Bakhtiari wrote on X. “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 and to me, that truly was enough. My 32 year old self is so damn proud of that 21 year old with no facial hair, bushy tail kid that just wanted to do his best. I’m so proud of you.
“For whatever happens next, I look forward to it. To the city and fans all across the world, I just want to say thank you. To the entire organization, Thank you. To entire coaching staffs, Thank you. To the entire support staff, Thank you. To my wife and daughter (Frankie and Felix): I hope you are proud. To my family (Debbie, Karl, Eric, Andrew, and Danielle): I hope I represented our name with pride these past 11 years in Green Bay. I cannot thank everyone, so I hope this post will suffice. Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile, because it happened.”
In his 11 years with the franchise, Bakhtiari was named a First-Team All-Pro twice and Second-Team All-Pro three times. He was also a three-time Pro Bowler.
Bakhtiari made an impact from his first day with the team. He became the first rookie in Green Bay to start every game since 1978 and the only NFL rookie to start every game at left tackle in the 2013 campaign.
Unfortunately, Bakhtiari has battled injuries in recent seasons with the Packers. In 2020, he signed a four-year, $105.5 million contract extension. At that time, he became the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history. Three-plus years later, his annual salary ranks third behind Laremy Tunsil, at $25 million, and Trent Williams at $23.1 million.
Six weeks after the Packers made the deal with Bakhtiari, the tackle tore his ACL in practice. He missed all but one game in 2021. And in the one game he played, he was in on only 20 snaps. In 2022, Bakhtiari appeared in 11 games. Then in 2023, the Packers placed him on injured reserve after the season opener. He had two surgeries on his left knee last year.
David Bakhtiari was a standout a Colorado in college, where he earned Second-Team All-Pac-12 honors in his final two seasons. He has not announced what his path forward in the NFL will look like.
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