The injury report for the Green Bay Packers is very crowded after the first two games of the season. They have been without key members of their lineup for both games thus far, and that unfortunately doesn’t look like it is going to change in the foreseeable future.
Left tackle David Bakhtiari was absent from this weekend’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons for undisclosed reasons. A troubling update was shared about him, as it has been revealed that his knee is giving him issues once again.
According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN on X, formerly known as Twitter, Bakhtiari was dealing with swelling in his knee leading up to the game on Sunday afternoon. The former All-Pro didn’t practice all week leading up to the game, but that wasn’t any different from Week 1 preparations as he hasn’t practiced since August 30th.
Green Bay was trying out something new when it came to Bakhtiari, limiting his usage in practice to keep from unnecessary wear and tear. It hasn’t seemed to work, as he missed Week 2. Some people hypothesized that he sat out because the game was being played on turf, but even if it were on grass, LaFleur believes he would have been out.
This is brutal news for the Packers as their starting left side of the offensive line is banged up. Left guard Elgton Jenkins is set to miss multiple weeks after suffering an MCL injury. An MRI is being done to pinpoint the severity of the injury and how long he could need to recover.
Bakhtiari and Jenkins are just the latest in what has been a string of injuries impacting the offense. Wide receiver Christian Watson has yet to play this season because of a hamstring injury suffered in practice before the league-mandated break between training camp and the regular season.
Running back Aaron Jones missed the game against the Falcons with a hamstring injury of his own. Wide receiver Romeo Doubs has suited up for both games but is limited by, you guessed it, a hamstring injury.
In Bakhtiari’s absence, the Packers started Rasheed Walker. He played well in pass protection, receiving a grade of 75. But, his run-blocking wasn’t very strong with a grade of 53.7. If Bakhtiari were to miss more time, Walker would likely remain at left tackle.
