He’s not a free agent yet, but he soon will be.
The Packers, as widely expected, will be releasing left tackle David Bakhtiari. He has posted a farewell to Green Bay on social media.
“A lot of emotion in this,” he said. “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.”
A fourth-round pick in 2013, Bakhtiari became a two-time first-team All-Pro, a three-time second-team All-Pro, and a three-time Pro Bowler.
He signed his latest contract during the 2020 season. A torn ACL suffered on December 31 of that year eventually derailed his career in Green Bay.
Bakhtiari played in one game in 2021, 11 in 2022, and one in 2023.
In hindsight, it was brilliant for him to get his contract during what was the final year of his prior deal. If he’d waited until after the season, the torn ACL would have wiped out the possibility of a new contract.
The obvious destination becomes the Jets. The real question is whether the Jets are willing to follow the Aaron Rodgers friends-and-former-teammates plan for 2024, since it didn’t go too well in 2023.