Packers’ star O-linemen David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins are hurt. Now what?

The Green Bay Packers probably have the best left side of an offensive line in the NFL when both left tackle David Bakhtiari and left guard Elgton Jenkins are healthy and playing how we’ve come to expect.
Entering the 2023 season, Bakhtiari seemed finally in the clear of the knee problems that had plagued him for the last two-plus seasons and Jenkins without rust to start a season after taking a while to return to form in 2022 after his midseason ACL tear in 2021.
Bakhtiari and Jenkins were both named Pro Bowl starters in 2020, and this was the first time since then that they’d both be healthy and, we assumed, consistently playing their brand of football.
“They just had limited opportunities to be out there together at their best over the last three years because of those injuries,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said this preseason. “But they both look great right now.”
“When you look at those guys a couple years ago, I’d argue that was the best left side in football,” head coach Matt LaFleur said. “And hopefully we can get back to that.”
The Packers got back to that for four quarters. That’s it.
Bakhtiari experienced swelling in his knee preceding Green Bay’s 25-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, LaFleur said Monday and didn’t play. LaFleur said he doesn’t believe Bakhtiari would have played even if the game had taken place at Lambeau Field.
There’s also the added twist of Eric Bakhtiari, David’s older brother, tweeting the popular “F— around, find out” meme in response to his brother being announced as inactive on Sunday. That prompted some to infer that Bakhtiari’s own family member was saying the NFL “F’d around” by keeping certain turf fields and “found out” that one of the league’s star players refused to play on turf. Bakhtiari has been strongly outspoken against any NFL stadiums using turf for quite some time.
https://t.co/LkbmWbpiXL pic.twitter.com/nkPRo3pByO
— Eric Bakhtiari (@ebak92) September 17, 2023
LaFleur has said that Bakhtiari’s absence had nothing to do with the field surface in Atlanta.
Jenkins, on the other hand, sprained his MCL early in the second quarter. He said Monday that he got landed on (by running back AJ Dillon, who appeared to lose his footing on the turf and roll up on Jenkins’ left leg from behind) but that he also felt the turf played a part in his injury because his “foot got caught in the ground and the turf didn’t want to give.”
“He seemed fine when I talked to him today,” LaFleur said Monday of Jenkins. “Obviously disappointed. He means a lot to our football team, obviously, and he’s played at a really high level. It’s an unfortunate play and I’ve got to give him credit, man. He stayed in there and battled and played another two plays. So when they told me he was down, it actually kind of shocked me ’cause I saw the initial hit. I was a little concerned. I saw him slow to get up, but then he kept going and I thought he was going to be able to play through it, but yeah, it’s unfortunate.”
This summer, Bakhtiari said this: “I’m not gonna be, like, a fortune teller or anything, but I think we’re finally — feel really good in a spot that I think the team and I understand kinda what we need to do … finally having an offseason of not having surgeries, the ability to let everything kind of calm down, settle in, train, put on muscle, protect the knee. I’m very grateful and thankful for where I’m at, and I’m just kind of excited to see what happens. Football is football. It’s not the healthiest thing in the world, so we’ll see when we get out there.”
Bakhtiari also said he could tell Jenkins was a lot more confident in his health and would benefit from being able to stay at left guard instead of having to move around.
Before Week 2 could even finish, the Packers were relying on 2022 seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker and Yosh Nijman at left tackle and Royce Newman at left guard. Even if Bakhtiari returns for the Packers’ Week 3 game against the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field, it’s become clear that his knee is certainly not in the clear, as he almost alluded to it being, and probably will never be, even as the Packers have heavily modified his practice schedule to try and ensure he’s in the best physical shape for game days. Jenkins said his injury isn’t season-ending, but he’ll miss extended time.
So now what?
Sunday’s loss in Atlanta was ugly, even for this Packers team.
In tonight’s story…
• The questionable non-kick
• Run defense. Yikes. Again.
• Jaire wasn’t Jaire
• Most mind-boggling play
• Dillon & Love’s costly sequence
• The injuries
Dive in: https://t.co/RmnLNjOREa
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) September 17, 2023
LaFleur said the team would convene on Monday night and determine who they want to roll out at left guard. Of the 2021 fourth-round pick Newman, LaFleur said he did a “nice job” against the Falcons in 32 offensive snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, Newman didn’t allow a pressure, hit, hurry or sack in 18 pass-blocking snaps but posted the second-worst run-blocking grade among offensive linemen who played behind right tackle Zach Tom.
Walker allowed a pressure and a hurry, according to PFF, but no hits or sacks while posting a slightly better run-blocking grade than Newman but one that was similarly sub-par as the Packers managed only four yards per carry on 21 rushes as they fell to 1-1 on the season.
Walker beat out Nijman for the backup left tackle job in preseason, but they didn’t always use Walker at left tackle against the Falcons. Per PFF, Walker played 39 snaps at left tackle and six inline on the right side of the formation while Nijman played 11 at left tackle and one at right tackle. Nijman didn’t allow a pressure, hurry, hit or sack in only four pass-blocking snaps while grading out better against the run than every offensive lineman except center Josh Myers (it still wasn’t a particularly good grade) while playing only eight run-blocking snaps.
If Bakhtiari can’t go again on Sunday — and whenever he can’t again this season, if it’s on grass or turf — Walker figures to get the nod protecting quarterback Jordan Love’s blindside.
“I thought ‘Sheed did a, for the most part, did a really nice job,” LaFleur said. “Obviously had the one penalty, but all in all, I thought he did a good job.”
“I don’t think it went too bad,” said Walker, who found out Saturday night he’d be making his first career start. “Had some good plays, had some bad plays. At the end of the day, all you can do is watch the film and learn from it and be better the next week.”
Luckily for the Packers, they might be better in recent history than any other team at developing homegrown offensive linemen.
Their depth, considered a strength this season because of how many returners they had up front — a unit stacked with homegrown guys — now will be put to the test. Just like it has the last several seasons, this time because of one injury the Packers seemed to think they’d be in the clear of and one that happened because of accidental friendly fire in a game.
That’s just the luck of the draw in the NFL, especially in recent years for a team that can’t seem to avoid injuries to their two best guys up front.
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