The Packers still don’t know for sure whether Aaron Rodgers will be under center in Week One. They also don’t know whether David Bakhtiari will be blocking for him.
Bakhtiari suffered a torn ACL at practice on New Year’s Eve, and he won’t be fully cleared for the start of training camp. Whether he’s fully cleared for Week One Bakhtiari himself remains unsure of, according to Jason Wilde of the State Journal. Instead, Bakhtiari says the day he’ll be back on the field is the day he’s medically ready to be back on the field, no sooner and no later.
“This is my first time going through this, so I’m just going to attack every day, try to hit every benchmark I can,” Bakhtiari said. “And once ‘Doc’ [team physician Dr. Patrick McKenzie] can check me off, I can check myself and I can go out there and not only perform and protect myself but perform at the level that the Packers need me to, I think that’s where you’ll see me return, on that date.”
The Packers missed Bakhtiari in their season-ending NFC Championship Game loss to the Buccaneers. They may continue to miss him early in the 2021 season, but they’ll be eager to have him back and healthy, whether he’s blocking for Rodgers or Jordan Love.