At long last, the wait appears to be over for the Green Bay Packers. The day may have started off with bad news about Sammy Watkins, but is ending with great news about David Bakhtiari. According to Bill Huber at Sports Illustrated, the five-time All-Pro left tackle is expected to play on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
There certainly seemed to be some buzz on Twitter earlier in the day regarding the possibility of Bakhtiari finally taking the field. The Packers’ Twitter account released this picture of the offensive linemen, drawing many fan reactions.
How fitting is it that Bakhtiari will (hopefully, probably, possibly) make his return to the football field against the Buccaneers? When Bakhtiari first tore his ACL in practice late in 2020, it forced him to miss the Packers’ playoff run that year. Of course, that was the season in which Green Bay lost the NFC Championship Game at home to Tom Brady and the Bucs. Many feel that if Bakhtiari had been healthy, the Packers would have won the game and the Super Bowl.
As many fans remember, Bakhtiari tried to come back in Week 18 last season. He played 27 snaps in the Packers’ loss to the Lions, but was unable to keep playing in the playoffs. His knee, which needed two other surgeries and about 15 other procedures since his initial surgery, just would not cooperate.
Indeed, it has been a long, frustrating process. Unfortunately, many so-called fans were not willing to let science and reason guide their views on the matter. As Andy Herman of Pack-A-Day so eloquently explained, there was so much more going on with Bakhtiari’s knee than we were aware of.
And, if I may add onto what Herman said, the Packers could not release any information on Bakhtiari’s health without his consent. Furthermore, Bakhtiari was under no obligation to release his medical issues to the general public. That is not the way the world works. The right to privacy is protected by law.
In any case, it appears that the Packers will finally have their offensive back at full strength. That might be the biggest advantage Green Bay will have in this game.
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