When the Packers made David Bakhtiari the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history during the 2020 season, they never imagined that he would suffer a knee injury a month later that would still be keeping him off the field in 2022. That’s where the Packers are now, but the good news is they’ve found an adequate replacement for Bakhtiari.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur says he doesn’t know when Bakhtiari will be healthy enough to play.
“I have no idea,” LaFleur said when asked if Bakhtiari will play Sunday against the Buccaneers.
But LaFleur praised Yosh Nijman, who has been filling in for Bakhtiari as the starting left tackle and playing well enough that the Packers’ offense has been unchanged.
“We’re not gonna game plan any different,” he said. “I think Yosh has done a damn good job in his time starting for us, so there’s not a lot I would say when it comes to that position, with the way Yosh has played, where it’s different.”
Nijman arrived in Green Bay as an undrafted rookie in 2019 and has been on minimum-salary contracts since. He isn’t paid like Bakhtiari, but LaFleur says he’s doing a good enough job of playing like Bakhtiari.