Friday Cheese Curds: David Bakhtiari’s injury is backing the Packers into a financial corner

Recovery from any injury requires patience but this is starting to approach panic territory.

When David Bakhtiari tore his ACL at the end of the 2020 season, not soon after signing a big extension, everyone knew 2021 was going to be a rough ride for him. Starting Week 1 was basically out but there was hope he could return late in the season and for a playoff run.

That seemed to be coming to fruition as he started the Week 18 finale with the Packers already having locked up home field advantage. All’s well that ends well.

Until it actually hadn’t ended.

Bakhtiari then missed the playoff game and was on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) for most of training camp. It turns out he had more than simply a “setback” as coaches like to say, he had two additional surgeries on his knee.

He’s been practicing inconsistently and the team still doesn’t know when their very expensive left tackle will be ready to play. It’s been a catastrophe for both team and player and one that has no end in sight but hopefully comes soon.

Until it does, Bakhtiari’s contract is looking more and more like an albatross that even a cap savvy team like the Packers will have a difficult time overcoming.

David Bakhtiari’s knee injury has been a financial catastrophe for the cap-strapped Green Bay Packers—PackersNews.com

The Packers have had to do a lot of financial gymnastics to just get Aaron Rodgers a new deal. Bakhtiari’s situation just makes future cap shuffling much more difficult.

Zach Tom’s versatility already coming into play for Packers—Packers.com

While Bakhtiari continues to rehab, the Packers will continue to call upon their young offensive linemen. Zach Tom helped the offense establish some rhythm last week when he replaced Jon Runyan Jr, but he still has work to do. That said, he’s one of the best five right now and should be starting

A Must-Win, Or Pretty Darned Close, for Packers—Packer Central

I won’t lie. My vibes are very low on this team right now after the performance on Sunday and some of the post-game comments. A win over the Chicago Bears (especially a blowout) would ease my mind considerably.

Brian Baumgartner explains Green Bay Packers tailgating—Deadspin

Fans of The Office might be surprised to learn an oversized batch of chili is not on the list.

Trail of slime leads German customs to bags of giant snails-Associated Press

Darn. I was hoping that was ectoplasm and would lead to a ghost. I’ll guess I’ll just escargot.