GREEN BAY, Wis. -- At least last Sunday wasn’t a total loss for David Bakhtiari.
Sure, the Green Bay Packers' third-year left tackle missed the first game of his career because of an ankle injury, snapping a streak of 49 consecutive starts, including the playoffs. But no one -- other than a handful of teammates on the sideline with him -- saw Bakhtiari as the offense ran onto the field without him to start the game.
“I was legitimately shedding tears. It’s a good thing no cameras were on me, “ Bakhtiari said Thursday, after sitting out yet another practice with the ankle injury that knocked him out of the team’s Dec. 20 game at Oakland. “The first time not suiting up with the guys, it hurt me.”
It hurt the Packers’ offense even more. Forced to start backup tackle Don Barclay in his place, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked eight times, and backup Scott Tolzien was sacked once, running the total to nine. Of those, Barclay was charged with four sacks as well as four quarterback hurries, according to Pro Football Focus, and the fact that Rodgers was under siege all game long was a major factor in the team’s 38-8 loss.
Although Bakhtiari still hasn’t been cleared to practice -- “Luckily the game’s not tonight,” he said after doing conditioning work Thursday -- he is hoping to be back in the lineup for Sunday night’s de facto NFC North championship game against Minnesota at Lambeau Field. He’ll have one last chance to practice during Saturday’s light workout.
Although the Packers have already clinched a playoff berth and are merely playing for homefield advantage in the NFC wild-card round, Bakhtiari said that if he feels ready to play, he won’t sit out to give himself extra healing time before postseason play begins.
“If I can play, I’m going to play. There’s no gray area. It’s black and white,” said Bakhtiari, who is in the third year of the four-year, $2.62 million rookie deal he signed as a fourth-round pick in 2013. “I’m too stupid to really think about (making the ankle worse). I’m going to play if I can play. I’m sure my agent (Mark Humenik) isn’t happy -- in fact, I know he isn’t. But I told him, ‘I’m sorry, that’s just kind of how I am.’”
If Bakhtiari cannot go, the Packers would have to decide whether to go back to Barclay at left tackle or start JC Tretter, who was the No. 2 center but worked at right tackle against the Cardinals after starter Bryan Bulaga left with an ankle injury and replacement Josh Walker was ineffective. Bulaga took part in Thursday’s practice and appears on track to play.
“I’m fine out there,” said Tretter, who played left tackle in college at Cornell. “I think I’m equally comfortable at left and right tackle and left and right guards. I think they’re equally comfortable with me. Obviously, center I’m most comfortable with.”
All five of the Packers’ starting offensive linemen appeared on the team’s injury report Thursday, with Bulaga, center Corey Linsley (ankle) and guards Josh Sitton (back) and T.J. Lang (shoulder) all practicing on a limited basis. After having their opening-day starting five intact for all but one game last season -- Bulaga missed the team’s Week 2 game with a knee injury sustained in the opener -- four of the Packers’ five starters have missed at least one game this season. Sitton is the only lineman to make all 15 starts.
“It’s life. You can do injury-prevention stuff all you want during the offseason, but when the injury bug wants to strike, it’s going to strike,” Bakhtiari said. “And it’s been hanging around me for a while and it finally got me.”