The end of 2020 could not have been worse for the Green Bay Packers after it was reported by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, outstanding left tackle David Bakhtiari suffered a knee injury in training on Thursday.
The Packers’ fear is that Bakhtiari will tear up his ACL and be ready for the season. Anyway, it seems that Green Bay will enter the playoffs without one of its best players.
Bakhtiari, a four-time All-Pro national team, is undoubtedly the best attacking striker for blocking passes in the NFL and the biggest reason Aaron Rodgers has been sacked just 19 times this season.
Obviously, replacing Bakhtiari will be difficult. After all, there’s a reason the Packers made him the highest-paid offensive striker in NFL history just a month ago.
But Packers have options. And an injury will not stop them from reaching the peak of all sports, as long as they have a contingency plan for Bakhtiari’s absence.
The good news is that Green Bay has a deep rotation on the offensive line, with several record snaps in various positions this season.
In fact, the Packers have two of the NFL’s most versatile attackers – Elgton Jenkins and Billy Turner – both with experience in left tackle.
Now in his second season, Jenkins was nominated for his first Pro Bowl after exhibiting incredible versatility. He is allowed only one sack, despite playing four different positions (left guard, center, left tackle and right tackle).
How good has Jenkins been? He is only the third Packers striker in the franchise’s history to be selected for a Pro Bowl in his first two seasons, according to Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal.
“You can see when he is on guard to attack for the center, he is a guy who just faces the challenge, loves the game,” said offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett last week. “And he is so smart. He can do a lot, and I think that just allowed him to play at a high level. “
Then there is Turner, who, after an unstable first season with the Packers in 2019, proved to be one of the most valuable players on the team this season.
Like Jenkins, Turner recorded time in several positions. He is allowed only two bags when he sees the inserts in three different positions; right tackle, right guard and left tackle.
Jenkins and Turner’s versatility allowed the Packers attack to make smooth adjustments to the game without causing a lot of hiccups along the way.
“Being able to go back and forth in the middle of a game is not necessarily the physical part,” said Turner in November.
“You know that you are able to physically do these actions, those techniques that you have been practicing for so long. It’s just the mental aspect of saying to yourself, ‘OK, instead of pushing with this leg, I have to push with the other. Instead of playing this hand first, I have to use this hand. ‘”
Also, let’s not forget that the Packers have an MVP quarterback in the middle of their best season, no doubt. Rodgers alone is able to lead the Packers to the Super Bowl.
Thus, while the Packers will certainly miss Bakhtiari’s presence the rest of the way, the team has options to replace him. And this is probably the most complete Green Bay squad since 2014. The Packers’ hopes for the Super Bowl should not be dismissed due to injury.