Expecting, or maybe in hindsight, more so hoping to return to being one of the NFC’s top teams in 2022, the Green Bay Packers have fallen well short of their goals this season.
We can point blame in a number of directions, but the truth is when a team goes from having a win percentage of 76.4% down to 38.4%, the blame can’t fall on just one person.
Yet, we also can’t expect the Packers to simply run it back and expect drastically improved results with largely the same roster. Especially seeing how the rest of the NFC North is shaping up.
The Lions are finally improving, even if it’s in small ways, the Bears may have finally found a quarterback they can build around, and the Vikings are running away with the division title for the first time since 2017. In other words, the tides are changing along the northern coast.
As mentioned, the Packers cannot afford to maintain much of the same roster in 2023 while seeing their division rivals take a step forward. This will undoubtedly lead to some unexpected player movement, possibly including some longtime franchise cornerstones.
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David Bakhtiari could become a cap casualty for Green Bay Packers
One NFL insider recently suggested that the Packers may do just that — move on from a two-time All-Pro talent. Specifically, left tackle David Bakhtiari was mentioned as a potential cap casualty.
Matt Schneidman of The Athletic was going through the Packers roster, player by player, and examining which may return, which may hit the door, and which players may be battling for a roster spot in the final stretch of the season.
While Bakhtiari isn’t in danger of getting cut for poor play, it may simply be as a result of the salary cap and where the Packers are at, trying to find ways to squeeze more talent onto the roster. That could come in the form of a full all-in approach, trying to capitalize on the twilight of Aaron Rodgers’ career, or maybe it’s in the form of a bit of a retool as they move forward with Jordan Love under center.
No matter what, Bakhtiari and his just over $29 million cap hit in 2023 could be deemed as expendable or at least viewed as a way to cut costs. Yet, it should be noted cutting Bakhtiari would only deliver a cap savings of just under $6 million, so we shouldn’t expect him to be cast off the island just yet.
Bakhtiari has started nine games this season and has yet to give up a sack, earning an elite grade of 82.1 per Pro Football Focus, showing that the 30-year-old blindside protector still has plenty of tread on his tires. Moving on from Bakhtiari would be an extremely tough decision, but expect the Packers to consider every avenue to improve over this season’s dreadful performance.
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